LED tube lamp

ABSTRACT

An LED tube lamp comprises a plurality of LED light sources, an end cap, a power supply disposed in the end cap, a lamp tube, and an LED light strip. The lamp tube extends in a first direction along a length of the lamp tube, and has an end attached to the end cap. LED light strip is electrically connected the LED light sources with the power supply. The LED light strip has in sequence a first wiring layer, a dielectric layer and a second wiring layer. A thickness of the second wiring layer is greater than a thickness of the first wiring layer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of non-provisionalapplication Ser. No. 14/865,387 and claims priority to Chinese PatentApplications No. CN 201410507660.9 filed on 2014 Sep. 28; CN201410508899.8 filed on 2014 Sep. 28; CN 201410623355.6 filed on 2014Nov. 6; CN 201410734425.5 filed on 2014 Dec. 5; CN 201510075925.7 filedon 2015 Feb. 12; CN 201510104823.3 filed on 2015 Mar. 11; CN201510134586.5 filed on 2015 Mar. 26; CN 201510133689.x filed on 2015Mar. 25; CN 201510136796.8 filed on 2015 Mar. 27; CN 201510173861.4filed on 2015 Apr. 14; CN 201510155807.7 filed on 2015 Apr. 3; CN201510193980.6 filed on 2015 Apr. 22; CN 201510372375.5 filed on 2015Jun. 26; CN 201510259151.3 filed on 2015 May 19; CN 201510268927.8 filedon 2015 May 22; CN 201510284720.x filed on 2015 May 29; CN201510338027.6 filed on 2015 Jun. 17; CN 201510315636.x filed on 2015Jun. 10; CN 201510373492.3 filed on 2015 Jun. 26; CN 201510364735.7filed on 2015 Jun. 26; CN 201510378322.4 filed on 2015 Jun. 29; CN201510391910.1 filed on 2015 Jul. 2; CN 201510406595.5 filed on 2015Jul. 10; CN 201510482944.1 filed on 2015 Aug. 7; CN 201510486115.0 filedon 2015 Aug. 8; CN 201510428680.1 filed on 2015 Jul. 20; CN201510483475.5 filed on 2015 Aug. 8; CN 201510555543.4 filed on 2015Sep. 2; CN 201510557717.0 filed on 2015 Sep. 6; and CN 201510595173.7filed on 2015 Sep. 18, the disclosures of which are incorporated hereinin their entirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The instant disclosure relates to illumination devices, and moreparticularly to an LED tube lamp.

RELATED ART

LED lighting technology is rapidly developing to replace traditionalincandescent and fluorescent lightings. LED tube lamps are mercury-freein comparison with fluorescent tube lamps that need to be filled withinert gas and mercury. Thus, it is not surprising that LED tube lampsare becoming a highly desired illumination option among differentavailable lighting systems used in homes and workplaces. Lightingsystems in homes and workplace are used to be dominated by traditionallighting options such as compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) andfluorescent tube lamps. Benefits of LED tube lamps include improveddurability and longevity and far less energy consumption; therefore,when taking into account all factors, they would typically be consideredas a cost effective lighting option.

Typical LED tube lamps have a lamp tube, light sources in the lamp tube,two caps connected to two ends of the lamp tube, and one power supply ortwo at the ends of the lamp tube. The caps receive external electricityand transmit it to the power supply and the light sources through a wireor wires (wire bonding).

However, existing LED tube lamps have certain drawbacks. Specifically,the wires may be easily damaged and even broken due to any movementduring manufacturing, transportation, and usage of the LED tube lamp andtherefore may disable the LED tube lamp.

SUMMARY

To address the above issue, the instant disclosure provides an LED lamptube.

Various embodiments are summarized in this section, and are describedwith respect to the “present invention,” which terminology is used todescribe certain presently disclosed embodiments, whether claimed ornot, and is not necessarily an exhaustive description of all possibleembodiments, but rather is merely a summary of certain embodiments.Certain of the embodiments described below as various aspects of the“present invention” can be combined in different manners to form an LEDtube lamp or a portion thereof.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, an LED tube lampcomprises a plurality of LED light sources, an end cap, a power supplydisposed in the end cap, a lamp tube, and an LED light strip. The lamptube extends in a first direction along a length of the lamp tube, andhas an end attached to the end cap. The LED light strip is electricallyconnected the LED light sources with the power supply. The LED lightstrip has in sequence a first wiring layer, a dielectric layer and asecond wiring layer. A thickness of the second wiring layer is greaterthan a thickness of the first wiring layer.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, a length of theLED light strip is greater than that of the lamp tube and the LED lightstrip has an end portion extending inside the end cap.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, the plurality ofLED light sources is disposed on the light strip except the end regionof the light strip extending inside the end cap.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, the first wiringlayer is the layer on which the plurality of LED light source isdisposed, and the plurality of LED light sources are electricallyconnected to the first wiring layer.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, the end portion ofthe light strip has a plurality of through holes to respectivelyelectrically communicate the first wiring layer and the second wiringlayer. The through holes are electrically insulated to each other toavoid short.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, an LED tube lampcomprises a plurality of LED light sources, an end cap, a power supplydisposed in the end cap, a lamp tube, and an LED light strip. The lamptube extends in a first direction along a length of the lamp tube, andhas an end attached to the end cap, an LED light strip having an endportion extending inside the end cap, and the LED light stripelectrically connected the LED light sources with the power supply.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, the LED lightstrip is a bendable circuit sheet, a conductive wiring layer, adielectric layer stacked on the conductive wiring layer, a bi-layeredstructure, two conductive wiring layers, an elongated aluminum plate, aFR4 board, and 3-layered flexible board.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, the LED lightstrip comprises an elongated aluminum plate.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, the power supplycomprises a circuit board and a circuit element disposed on the circuitboard, and the circuit board is mounted on the aluminum plate. Thecircuit board is substantially perpendicular to the aluminum plate.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, the LED lightstrip is a multiple layers of the wiring layers and multiple layers ofthe dielectric layers sequentially stacked in a staggered manner.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, the stacked layersare away from the surface of the outermost wiring layer on which theplurality of LED light sources is disposed. The outermost wiring layeris electrically connected to the power supply.

According to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, the LED lightstrip has a protective layer on the widen part. A ratio of the length ofthe LED light strip along the circumferential direction to thecircumferential length of the lamp tube is about 0.3 to 0.5.

The features of the instant disclosure will no doubt becomeunderstandable to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an LED tube lampaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1A is a perspective view schematically illustrating the differentsized end caps of an LED tube lamp according to another embodiment ofthe present invention to illustrate;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary exploded view schematically illustrating the LEDtube lamp shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically illustrating front and top ofan end cap of the LED tube lamp according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary perspective view schematically illustratingbottom of the end cap as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plane cross-sectional partial view schematicallyillustrating a connecting region of the end cap and the lamp tube of theLED tube lamp according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginner structure of an all-plastic end cap (having a magnetic metalmember and hot melt adhesive inside) according to another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the all-plasticend cap and the lamp tube being bonded together by utilizing aninduction coil according to certain embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a supportingportion and a protruding portion of the electrically insulating tube ofthe end cap of the LED tube lamp according to the another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary plane cross-sectional view schematicallyillustrating the inner structure of the electrically insulating tube andthe magnetic metal member of the end cap of FIG. 8 taken along a lineX-X;

FIG. 10 is a plane view schematically illustrating the configuration ofthe openings on surface of the magnetic metal member of the end cap ofthe LED tube lamp according to the another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a plane view schematically illustrating theindentation/embossment on a surface of the magnetic metal member of theend cap of the LED tube lamp according to certain embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 12 is an exemplary plane cross-sectional view schematicallyillustrating the structure of the connection of the end cap of FIG. 8and the lamp tube along a radial axis of the lamp tube, where theelectrically insulating tube is in shape of a circular ring;

FIG. 13 is an exemplary plane cross-sectional view schematicallyillustrating the structure of the connection of the end cap of FIG. 8and the lamp tube along a radial axis of the lamp tube, where theelectrically insulating tube is in shape of an elliptical or oval ring;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view schematically illustrating still anotherend cap of an LED tube lamp according to still another embodiment of theprevent invention;

FIG. 15 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustrating endstructure of a lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is an exemplary plane cross-sectional view schematicallyillustrating the local structure of the transition region of the end ofthe lamp tube of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginside structure of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according to oneembodiment of the present invention, wherein two reflective films arerespectively adjacent to two sides of the LED light strip along thecircumferential direction of the lamp tube;

FIG. 18 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginside structure of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according toanother embodiment of the present invention, wherein only a reflectivefilm is disposed on one side of the LED light strip along thecircumferential direction of the lamp tube;

FIG. 19 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginside structure of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according tostill another embodiment of the present invention, wherein thereflective film is under the LED light strip and extends at both sidesalong the circumferential direction of the lamp tube;

FIG. 20 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginside structure of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according to yetanother embodiment of the present invention, wherein the reflective filmis under the LED light strip and extends at only one side along thecircumferential direction of the lamp tube;

FIG. 21 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginside structure of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according tostill yet another embodiment of the present invention, wherein tworeflective films are respectively adjacent to two sides of the LED lightstrip and extending along the circumferential direction of the lamptube;

FIG. 22 is a plane sectional view schematically illustrating the LEDlight strip is a bendable circuit sheet with ends thereof passing acrossthe transition region of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp to besoldering bonded to the output terminals of the power supply accordingto one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustrating abi-layered structure of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED lightstrip of the LED tube lamp according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the solderingpad of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip for solderingconnection with the printed circuit board of the power supply of the LEDtube lamp according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a plane view schematically illustrating the arrangement ofthe soldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light stripof the LED tube lamp according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 26 is a plane view schematically illustrating a row of threesoldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip ofthe LED tube lamp according to another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 27 is a plane view schematically illustrating two rows of solderingpads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip of the LEDtube lamp according to still another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 28 is a plane view schematically illustrating a row of foursoldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip ofthe LED tube lamp according to yet another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 29 is a plane view schematically illustrating two rows of twosoldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip ofthe LED tube lamp according to yet still another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 30 is a plane view schematically illustrating through holes areformed on the soldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LEDlight strip of the LED tube lamp according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 31 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratingsoldering bonding process utilizing the soldering pads of the bendablecircuit sheet of the LED light strip of FIG. 30 taken from side view andthe printed circuit board of the power supply according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 32 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratingsoldering bonding process utilizing the soldering pads of the bendablecircuit sheet of the LED light strip of FIG. 30 taken from side view andthe printed circuit board of the power supply according to anotherembodiment of the present invention, wherein the through hole of thesoldering pads is near the edge of the bendable circuit sheet;

FIG. 33 is a plane view schematically illustrating notches formed on thesoldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip ofthe LED tube lamp according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 34 is an exemplary plane cross-sectional view of FIG. 33 takenalong a line A-A′;

FIG. 35 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a circuit boardassembly composed of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light stripand the printed circuit board of the power supply according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 36 is a perspective view schematically illustrating anotherarrangement of the circuit board assembly of FIG. 35;

FIG. 37 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an LED leadframe for the LED light sources of the LED tube lamp according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 38 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a power supplyof the LED tube lamp according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 39 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the printedcircuit board of the power supply, which is perpendicularly adhered to ahard circuit board made of aluminum via soldering according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 40 is a perspective view illustrating a thermos-compression headused in soldering the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip andthe printed circuit board of the power supply according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 41 is a plane view schematically illustrating the thicknessdifference between two solders on the pads of the bendable circuit sheetof the LED light strip or the printed circuit board of the power supplyaccording to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 42 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the solderingvehicle for soldering the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light stripand the printed circuit board of the power supply according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 43 is an exemplary plan view schematically illustrating a rotationstatus of the rotary platform of the soldering vehicle in FIG. 41;

FIG. 44 is a plan view schematically illustrating an external equipmentfor heating the hot melt adhesive according to another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 45 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the hotmelt adhesive having uniformly distributed high permeability powderparticles with small particle size according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 46 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the hotmelt adhesive having non-uniformly distributed high permeability powderparticles with small particle size according to another embodiment ofthe present invention, wherein the powder particles form a closedelectric loop;

FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the hotmelt adhesive having non-uniformly distributed high permeability powderparticles with large particle size according to yet another embodimentof the present invention, wherein the powder particles form a closedelectric loop;

FIG. 48 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the bendablecircuit sheet of the LED light strip is formed with two conductivewiring layers according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 49A is a schematic diagram of an LED module according to someembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 49B is a schematic diagram of an LED module according to someembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 49C is a plan view of a circuit layout of the LED module accordingto some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 49D is a plan view of a circuit layout of the LED module accordingto some embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 49E is a plan view of a circuit layout of the LED module accordingto some embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a novel LED tube lamp. The presentdisclosure will now be described in the following embodiments withreference to the drawings. The following descriptions of variousembodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose ofillustration and giving examples only. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. These exampleembodiments are just that—examples—and many implementations andvariations are possible that do not require the details provided herein.It should also be emphasized that the disclosure provides details ofalternative examples, but such listing of alternatives is notexhaustive. Furthermore, any consistency of detail between variousexamples should not be interpreted as requiring such detail—it isimpracticable to list every possible variation for every featuredescribed herein. The language of the claims should be referenced indetermining the requirements of the invention.

In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of components may beexaggerated for clarity. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items and may beabbreviated as “/”.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions,layers, or steps, these elements, components, regions, layers, and/orsteps should not be limited by these terms. Unless the context indicatesotherwise, these terms are only used to distinguish one element,component, region, layer, or step from another element, component,region, or step, for example as a naming convention. Thus, a firstelement, component, region, layer, or step discussed below in onesection of the specification could be termed a second element,component, region, layer, or step in another section of thespecification or in the claims without departing from the teachings ofthe present invention. In addition, in certain cases, even if a term isnot described using “first,” “second,” etc., in the specification, itmay still be referred to as “first” or “second” in a claim in order todistinguish different claimed elements from each other.

It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or“comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, regions,integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected” or “coupled” to or “on” another element, it can be directlyconnected or coupled to or on the other element or intervening elementsmay be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being“directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there areno intervening elements present. Other words used to describe therelationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion(e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directlyadjacent,” etc.). However, the term “contact,” as used herein refers todirect contact (i.e., touching) unless the context indicates otherwise.

Embodiments described herein will be described referring to plan viewsand/or cross-sectional views by way of ideal schematic views.Accordingly, the exemplary views may be modified depending onmanufacturing technologies and/or tolerances. Therefore, the disclosedembodiments are not limited to those shown in the views, but includemodifications in configuration formed on the basis of manufacturingprocesses. Therefore, regions exemplified in figures may have schematicproperties, and shapes of regions shown in figures may exemplifyspecific shapes of regions of elements to which aspects of the inventionare not limited.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,”“upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description todescribe one element's or feature's relationship to another element(s)or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood thatthe spatially relative terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the device in use or operation in addition to theorientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in thefigures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” otherelements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elementsor features. Thus, the term “below” can encompass both an orientation ofabove and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptorsused herein interpreted accordingly.

Terms such as “same,” “equal,” “planar,” or “coplanar,” as used hereinwhen referring to orientation, layout, location, shapes, sizes, amounts,or other measures do not necessarily mean an exactly identicalorientation, layout, location, shape, size, amount, or other measure,but are intended to encompass nearly identical orientation, layout,location, shapes, sizes, amounts, or other measures within acceptablevariations that may occur, for example, due to manufacturing processes.The term “substantially” may be used herein to reflect this meaning.

Terms such as “about” or “approximately” may reflect sizes,orientations, or layouts that vary only in a small relative manner,and/or in a way that does not significantly alter the operation,functionality, or structure of certain elements. For example, a rangefrom “about 0.1 to about 1” may encompass a range such as a 0%-5%deviation around 0.1 and a 0% to 5% deviation around 1, especially ifsuch deviation maintains the same effect as the listed range.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It willbe further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and/orthe present application, and will not be interpreted in an idealized oroverly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

As used herein, items described as being “electrically connected” areconfigured such that an electrical signal can be passed from one item tothe other. Therefore, a passive electrically conductive component (e.g.,a wire, pad, internal electrical line, etc.) physically connected to apassive electrically insulative component (e.g., a prepreg layer of aprinted circuit board, an electrically insulative adhesive connectingtwo devices, an electrically insulative underfill or mold layer, etc.)is not electrically connected to that component. Moreover, items thatare “directly electrically connected,” to each other are electricallyconnected through one or more passive elements, such as, for example,wires, pads, internal electrical lines, resistors, etc. As such,directly electrically connected components do not include componentselectrically connected through active elements, such as transistors ordiodes.

Components described as thermally connected or in thermal communicationare arranged such that heat will follow a path between the components toallow the heat to transfer from the first component to the secondcomponent. Simply because two components are part of the same device orboard does not make them thermally connected. In general, componentswhich are heat-conductive and directly connected to otherheat-conductive or heat-generating components (or connected to thosecomponents through intermediate heat-conductive components or in suchclose proximity as to permit a substantial transfer of heat) will bedescribed as thermally connected to those components, or in thermalcommunication with those components. On the contrary, two componentswith heat-insulative materials therebetween, which materialssignificantly prevent heat transfer between the two components, or onlyallow for incidental heat transfer, are not described as thermallyconnected or in thermal communication with each other. The terms“heat-conductive” or “thermally-conductive” do not apply to any materialthat provides incidental heat conduction, but are intended to refer tomaterials that are typically known as good heat conductors or known tohave utility for transferring heat, or components having similar heatconducting properties as those materials.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an LED tube lamp of one embodiment of thepresent invention includes a lamp tube 1, an LED light strip 2 disposedinside the lamp tube 1, and two end caps 3 respectively disposed at twoends of the lamp tube 1. The lamp tube 1 may be made of plastic orglass. The sizes of the two end caps 3 may be same or different.Referring to FIG. 1A, the size of one end cap may, in some embodiments,be about 30% to about 80% times the size of the other end cap.

In one embodiment, the lamp tube 1 is made of glass with strengthened ortempered structure to avoid being easily broken and incurring electricalshock, and to avoid the fast aging process. The glass made lamp tube 1may be additionally strengthened or tempered by a chemical temperingmethod or a physical tempering method in various embodiments of thepresent invention.

An exemplary chemical tempering method is accomplished by exchanging theNa ions or K ions on the glass surface with other alkali metal ions andtherefore changes composition of the glass surface. The sodium (Na) ionsor potassium (K) ions and other alkali metal ions on the glass surfaceare exchanged to form an ion exchange layer on the glass surface. Theglass is then under tension on the inside while under compression on theoutside when cooled to room temperature, so as to achieve the purpose ofincreased strength. The chemical tempering method includes but is notlimited to the following glass tempering methods: high temperature typeion exchange method, the low temperature type ion exchange method,dealkalization, surface crystallization, and/or sodium silicatestrengthening methods, further explained as follows.

An exemplary embodiment of the high temperature type ion exchange methodincludes the following steps: Inserting glass containing sodium oxide(Na₂O) or potassium oxide (K₂O) in the temperature range of thesoftening point and glass transition point into molten salt of lithium,so that the Na ions in the glass are exchanged for Li ions in the moltensalt. Later, the glass is then cooled to room temperature, since thesurface layer containing Li ions has a different expansion coefficientwith respect to the inner layer containing Na ions or K ions, thus thesurface produces residual stress and is reinforced. Meanwhile, the glasscontaining Al₂O₃, TiO₂ and other components, by performing ion exchange,can produce glass crystals having an extremely low coefficient ofexpansion. The crystallized glass surface after cooling produces asignificant amount of pressure, up to 700 MPa, which can enhance thestrength of glass.

An exemplary embodiment of the low-temperature ion exchange methodincludes the following steps: First, a monovalent cation (e.g., K ions)undergoes ion exchange with the alkali ions (e.g. Na ion) on the surfacelayer at a temperature range that is lower than the strain pointtemperature, so as to allow the K ions to penetrate the surface. Forexample, for manufacturing a Na₂O+CaO+SiO₂ system glass, the glass canbe impregnated for ten hours at more than four hundred degrees in themolten salt. The low temperature ion exchange method can easily obtainglass of higher strength, and the processing method is simple, does notdamage the transparent nature of the glass surface, and does not undergoshape distortion.

An exemplary embodiment of dealkalization includes treating glass usingplatinum (Pt) catalyst along with sulfurous acid gas and water in a hightemperature atmosphere. The Na+ ions are migrated out and bleed from theglass surface to be reacted with the Pt catalyst, so that the surfacelayer becomes a SiO₂ enriched layer, which results in a low expansionglass and produces compressive stress upon cooling.

The surface crystallization method and the high temperature type ionexchange method are different, but only the surface layer is treated byheat treatment to form low expansion coefficient microcrystals on theglass surface, thus reinforcing the glass.

An exemplary embodiment of the sodium silicate glass strengtheningmethod is a tempering method using sodium silicate (water glass) inwater solution at 100 degrees Celsius and several atmospheres ofpressure treatment, where a stronger/higher strength glass surface thatis harder to scratch is thereby produced.

An exemplary embodiment of the physical tempering method includes but isnot limited to applying a coating to or changing the structure of anobject such as to strengthen the easily broken position. The appliedcoating can be, for example, a ceramic coating, an acrylic coating, or aglass coating depending on the material used. The coating can beperformed in a liquid phase or gaseous phase.

The above glass tempering methods described including physical temperingmethods and chemical tempering methods can be accomplished singly orcombined together in any fashion.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 15, a glass made lamp tube of an LED tubelamp according to one embodiment of the present invention hasstructure-strengthened end regions described as follows. The glass madelamp tube 1 includes a main body region 102, two rear end regions 101(or just end regions 101) respectively formed at two ends of the mainbody region 102, and end caps 3 that respectively sleeve the rear endregions 101. The outer diameter of at least one of the rear end regions101 is less than the outer diameter of the main body region 102. In theembodiment of FIGS. 2 and 15, the outer diameters of the two rear endregions 101 are less than the outer diameter of the main body region102. In addition, the surface of the rear end region 101 is insubstantially parallel with the surface of the main body region 102 in across-sectional view. Specifically, the glass made lamp tube 1 isstrengthened at both ends, such that the rear end regions 101 are formedto be strengthened structures. In certain embodiments, the rear endregions 101 with strengthened structure are respectively sleeved withthe end caps 3, and the outer diameters of the end caps 3 and the mainbody region 102 have little or no differences. For example, the end caps3 may have the same or substantially the same outer diameters as that ofthe main body region 102 such that there is no gap between the end caps3 and the main body region 102. In this way, a supporting seat in apacking box for transportation of the LED tube lamp contacts not onlythe end caps 3 but also the lamp tube 1 and makes uniform the loadingson the entire LED tube lamp to avoid situations where only the end caps3 are forced, therefore preventing breakage at the connecting portionbetween the end caps 3 and the rear end regions 101 due to stressconcentration. The quality and the appearance of the product aretherefore improved.

In one embodiment, the end caps 3 and the main body region 102 havesubstantially the same outer diameters. These diameters may have atolerance for example within +/−0.2 millimeter (mm), or in some cases upto +/−1.0 millimeter (mm). Depending on the thickness of the end caps 3,the difference between an outer diameter of the rear end regions 101 andan outer diameter of the main body region 102 can be about 1 mm to about10 mm for typical product applications. In some embodiments, thedifference between the outer diameter of the rear end regions 101 andthe outer diameter of the main body region 102 can be about 2 mm toabout 7 mm.

Referring to FIG. 15, the lamp tube 1 is further formed with atransition region 103 between the main body region 102 and the rear endregions 101. In one embodiment, the transition region 103 is a curvedregion formed to have cambers at two ends to smoothly connect the mainbody region 102 and the rear end regions 101, respectively. For example,the two ends of the transition region 103 may be arc-shaped in across-section view along the axial direction of the lamp tube 1.Furthermore, one of the cambers connects the main body region 102 whilethe other one of the cambers connects the rear end region 101. In someembodiments, the arc angle of the cambers is greater than 90 degreeswhile the outer surface of the rear end region 101 is a continuoussurface in parallel with the outer surface of the main body region 102when viewed from the cross-section along the axial direction of the lamptube. In other embodiments, the transition region 103 can be withoutcurve or arc in shape. In certain embodiments, the length of thetransition region 103 along the axial direction of the lamp tube 1 isbetween about 1 mm to about 4 mm. Upon experimentation, it was foundthat when the length of the transition region 103 along the axialdirection of the lamp tube 1 is less than 1 mm, the strength of thetransition region would be insufficient; when the length of thetransition region 103 along the axial direction of the lamp tube 1 ismore than 4 mm, the main body region 102 would be shorter and thedesired illumination surface would be reduced, and the end caps 3 wouldbe longer and the more materials for the end caps 3 would be needed.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 16, in certain embodiments, the lamp tube 1is made of glass, and has a rear end region 101, a main body region 102,and a transition region 103. The transition region 103 has twoarc-shaped cambers at both ends to from an S shape; one camberpositioned near the main body region 102 is convex outwardly, while theother camber positioned near the rear end region 101 is concavedinwardly. Generally speaking, the radius of curvature, R1, of thecamber/arc between the transition region 103 and the main body region102 is smaller than the radius of curvature, R2, of the camber/arcbetween the transition region 103 and the rear end region 101. The ratioR1:R2 may range, for example, from about 1:1.5 to about 1:10, and insome embodiments is more effective from about 1:2.5 to about 1:5, and insome embodiments is even more effective from about 1:3 to about 1:4. Inthis way, the camber/arc of the transition region 103 positioned nearthe rear end region 101 is in compression at outer surfaces and intension at inner surfaces, and the camber/arc of the transition region103 positioned near the main body region 102 is in tension at outersurfaces and in compression at inner surfaces. Therefore, the goal ofstrengthening the transition region 103 of the lamp tube 1 is achieved.

Taking the standard specification for T8 lamp as an example, the outerdiameter of the rear end region 101 is configured between 20.9 mm to 23mm. An outer diameter of the rear end region 101 being less than 20.9 mmwould be too small to fittingly insert the power supply into the lamptube 1. The outer diameter of the main body region 102 is in someembodiments configured to be between about 25 mm to about 28 mm. Anouter diameter of the main body region 102 being less than 25 mm wouldbe inconvenient to strengthen the ends of the main body region 102 asfar as the current manufacturing skills are concerned, while an outerdiameter of the main body region 102 being greater than 28 mm is notcompliant to the industrial standard.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, in one embodiment of the invention, each endcap 3 includes an electrically insulating tube 302, a thermal conductivemember 303 sleeving over the electrically insulating tube 302, and twohollow conductive pins 301 disposed on the electrically insulating tube302. The thermal conductive member 303 can be a metal ring that istubular in shape.

Referring FIG. 5, in one embodiment, one end of the thermal conductivemember 303 extends away from the electrically insulating tube 302 of theend cap 3 and towards one end of the lamp tube 1, and is bonded andadhered to the end of the lamp tube 1 using a hot melt adhesive 6. Inthis way, the end cap 3 by way of the thermal conductive member 303extends to the transition region 103 of the lamp tube 1. In oneembodiment, the thermal conductive member 303 and the transition region103 are closely connected such that the hot melt adhesive 6 would notoverflow out of the end cap 3 and remain on the main body region 102when using the hot melt adhesive 6 to join the thermal conductive member303 and the lamp tube 1. In addition, the electrically insulating tube302 facing toward the lamp tube 1 does not have an end extending to thetransition region 103, and that there is a gap between the electricallyinsulating tube 302 and the transition region 103. In one embodiment,the electrically insulating tube 302 is not limited to being made ofplastic or ceramic, any material that is not a good electrical conductorcan be used.

The hot melt adhesive 6 is a composite including a so-called commonlyknown as “welding mud powder”, and in some embodiments includes one ormore of phenolic resin 2127#, shellac, rosin, calcium carbonate powder,zinc oxide, and ethanol. Rosin is a thickening agent with a feature ofbeing dissolved in ethanol but not dissolved in water. In oneembodiment, a hot melt adhesive 6 having rosin could be expanded tochange its physical status to become solidified when being heated tohigh temperature in addition to the intrinsic viscosity. Therefore, theend cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 can be adhered closely by using the hotmelt adhesive to accomplish automatic manufacture for the LED tubelamps. In one embodiment, the hot melt adhesive 6 may be expansive andflowing and finally solidified after cooling. In this embodiment, thevolume of the hot melt adhesive 6 expands to about 1.3 times theoriginal size when heated from room temperature to about 200 to 250degrees Celsius. The hot melt adhesive 6 is not limited to the materialsrecited herein. Alternatively, a material for the hot melt adhesive 6 tobe solidified immediately when heated to a predetermined temperature canbe used. The hot melt adhesive 6 provided in each embodiments of thepresent invention is durable with respect to high temperature inside theend caps 3 due to the heat resulted from the power supply. Therefore,the lamp tube 1 and the end caps 3 could be secured to each otherwithout decreasing the reliability of the LED tube lamp.

Furthermore, there is formed an accommodation space between the innersurface of the thermal conductive member 303 and the outer surface ofthe lamp tube 1 to accommodate the hot melt adhesive 6, as indicated bythe dotted line B in FIG. 5. For example, the hot melt adhesive 6 can befilled into the accommodation space at a location where a firsthypothetical plane (as indicated by the dotted line B in FIG. 5) beingperpendicular to the axial direction of the lamp tube 1 would passthrough the thermal conductive member, the hot melt adhesive 6, and theouter surface of the lamp tube 1. The hot melt adhesive 6 may have athickness, for example, of about 0.2 mm to about 0.5 mm. In oneembodiment, the hot melt adhesive 6 will be expansive to solidify in andconnect with the lamp tube 1 and the end cap 3 to secure both. Thetransition region 103 brings a height difference between the rear endregion 101 and the main body region 102 to avoid the hot melt adhesives6 being overflowed onto the main body region 102, and thereby savesmanpower to remove the overflowed adhesive and increase the LED tubelamp productivity. The hot melt adhesive 6 is heated by receiving heatfrom the thermal conductive member 303 to which an electricity from anexternal heating equipment is applied, and then expands and finallysolidifies after cooling, such that the end caps 3 are adhered to thelamp tube 1.

Referring to FIG. 5, in one embodiment, the electrically insulating tube302 of the end cap 3 includes a first tubular part 302 a and a secondtubular part 302 b connected along an axial direction of the lamp tube1. The outer diameter of the second tubular part 302 b is less than theouter diameter of the first tubular part 302 a. In some embodiments, theouter diameter difference between the first tubular part 302 a and thesecond tubular part 302 b is between about 0.15 mm and about 0.30 mm.The thermal conductive member 303 sleeves over the outer circumferentialsurface of the second tubular part 302 b. The outer surface of thethermal conductive member 303 is coplanar or substantially flush withrespect to the outer circumferential surface of the first tubular part302 a. For example, the thermal conductive member 303 and the firsttubular part 302 a have substantially uniform exterior diameters fromend to end. As a result, the entire end cap 3 and thus the entire LEDtube lamp may be smooth with respect to the outer appearance and mayhave a substantially uniform tubular outer surface, such that theloading during transportation on the entire LED tube lamp is alsouniform. In one embodiment, a ratio of the length of the thermalconductive member 303 along the axial direction of the end cap 3 to theaxial length of the electrically insulating tube 302 ranges from about1:2.5 to about 1:5.

In one embodiment, for the sake of securing adhesion between the end cap3 and the lamp tube 1, the second tubular part 302 b is at leastpartially disposed around the lamp tube 1, and the accommodation spacefurther includes a space encompassed by the inner surface of the secondtubular part 302 b and the outer surface of the rear end region 101 ofthe lamp tube 1. The hot melt adhesive 6 is at least partially filled inan overlapped region (shown by a dotted line “A” in FIG. 5) between theinner surface of the second tubular part 302 b and the outer surface ofthe rear end region 101 of the lamp tube 1. For example, the hot meltadhesive 6 may be filled into the accommodation space at a locationwhere a second hypothetical plane (shown by the dotted line A in FIG. 5)being perpendicular to the axial direction of the lamp tube 1 would passthrough the thermal conductive member 303, the second tubular part 302b, the hot melt adhesive 6, and the rear end region 101.

The hot melt adhesive 6 is not required to completely fill the entireaccommodation space as shown in FIG. 5, especially where a gap isreserved or formed between the thermal conductive member 303 and thesecond tubular part 302 b. For example, in some embodiments, the hotmelt adhesive 6 can be only partially filled into the accommodationspace. During manufacturing of the LED tube lamp, the amount of the hotmelt adhesive 6 coated and applied between the thermal conductive member303 and the rear end region 101 may be appropriately increased, suchthat in the subsequent heating process, the hot melt adhesive 6 can becaused to expand and flow in between the second tubular part 302 b andthe rear end region 101, and thereby solidify after cooling to join thesecond tubular part 302 b and the rear end region 101.

During fabrication of the LED tube lamp, the rear end region 101 of thelamp tube 1 is inserted into one of the end caps 3. In some embodiments,the axial length of the inserted portion of the rear end region 101 ofthe lamp tube 1 accounts for approximately one-third (⅓) to two-thirds(⅔) of the total axial length of the thermal conductive member 303. Onebenefit is that, there will be sufficient creepage distance between thehollow conductive pins 301 and the thermal conductive member 303, andthus it is not easy to form a short circuit leading to dangerouselectric shock to individuals. On the other hand, the creepage distancebetween the hollow conductive pin 301 and the thermal conductive member303 is increased due to the electrically insulating effect of theelectrically insulating tube 302, and thus a high voltage test is morelikely to pass without causing electrical shocks to people.

Furthermore, the presence of the second tubular part 302 b interposedbetween the hot melt adhesive 6 and the thermal conductive member 303may reduce the heat from the thermal conductive member 303 to the hotmelt adhesive 6. To help prevent or minimize this problem, referring toFIG. 4 in one embodiment, the end of the second tubular part 302 bfacing the lamp tube 1 (i.e., away from the first tubular part 302 a) iscircumferentially provided with a plurality of notches 302 c. Thesenotches 302 c help to increase the contact areas between the thermalconductive member 303 and the hot melt adhesive 6 and therefore providerapid heat conduction from the thermal conductive member 303 to the hotmelt adhesive 6 so as to accelerate the solidification of the hot meltadhesive 6. Moreover, the hot melt adhesive 6 electrically insulates thethermal conductive member 303 and the lamp tube 1 so that a user wouldnot be electrically shocked when he touches the thermal conductivemember 303 connected to a broken lamp tube 1.

The thermal conductive member 303 can be made of various heat conductingmaterials. The thermal conductive member 303 can be a metal sheet suchas an aluminum alloy. The thermal conductive member 303 sleeves thesecond tubular part 302 b and can be tubular or ring-shaped. Theelectrically insulating tube 302 may be made of electrically insulatingmaterial, but in some embodiments have low thermal conductivity so as toprevent the heat from reaching the power supply module located insidethe end cap 3 and therefore negatively affecting performance of thepower supply module. In one embodiment, the electrically insulating tube302 is a plastic tube.

Alternatively, the thermal conductive member 303 may be formed by aplurality of metal plates circumferentially arranged on the tubular part302 b with either an equidistant space or a non-equidistant space.

The end cap 3 may be designed to have other kinds of structures orinclude other elements. Referring to FIG. 6, the end cap 3 according toanother embodiment further includes a magnetic metal member 9 within theelectrically insulating tube 302 but excludes the thermal conductivemember 3. The magnetic metal member 9 is fixedly arranged on the innercircumferential surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 andtherefore interposed between the electrically insulating tube 302 andthe lamp tube 1 such that the magnetic metal member 9 is partiallyoverlapped with the lamp tube 1 in the radial direction. In thisembodiment, the whole magnetic metal member 9 is inside the electricallyinsulating tube 302, and the hot melt adhesive 6 is coated on the innersurface of the magnetic metal member 9 (the surface of the magneticmetal tube member 9 facing the lamp tube 1) and adhered to the outerperipheral surface of the lamp tube 1. In some embodiments, the hot meltadhesive 6 covers the entire inner surface of the magnetic metal member9 in order to increase the adhesion area and to improve the stability ofthe adhesion.

Referring to FIG. 7, when manufacturing the LED tube lamp of thisembodiment, the electrically insulating tube 302 is inserted in anexternal heating equipment which is in some embodiments an inductioncoil 11, so that the induction coil 11 and the magnetic metal member 9are disposed opposite (or adjacent) to one another along the radiallyextending direction of the electrically insulating tube 302. Theinduction coil 11 is energized and forms an electromagnetic field, andthe electromagnetic field induces the magnetic metal member 9 to createan electrical current and become heated. The heat from the magneticmetal member 9 is transferred to the hot melt adhesive 6 to make the hotmelt adhesive 6 expansive and flowing and then solidified after cooling,and the bonding for the end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 can beaccomplished. The induction coil 11 may be made, for example, of redcopper and composed of metal wires having width of, for example, about 5mm to about 6 mm to be a circular coil with a diameter, for example, ofabout 30 mm to about 35 mm, which is a bit greater than the outerdiameter of the end cap 3. Since the end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 mayhave the same outer diameters, the outer diameter may change dependingon the outer diameter of the lamp tube 1, and therefore the diameter ofthe induction coil 11 used can be changed depending on the type of thelamp tube 1 used. As examples, the outer diameters of the lamp tube forT12, T10, T8, T5, T4, and T2 are 38.1 mm, 31.8 mm, 25.4 mm, 16 mm, 12.7mm, and 6.4 mm, respectively.

Furthermore, the induction coil 11 may be provided with a poweramplifying unit to increase the alternating current power to about 1 to2 times the original. In some embodiments, it is better that theinduction coil 11 and the electrically insulating tube 302 are coaxiallyaligned to make energy transfer more uniform. In some embodiments, adeviation value between the axes of the induction coil 11 and theelectrically insulating tube 302 is not greater than about 0.05 mm Whenthe bonding process is complete, the end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 aremoved away from the induction coil. Then, the hot melt adhesive 6absorbs the energy to be expansive and flowing and solidified aftercooling. In one embodiment, the magnetic metal member 9 can be heated toa temperature of about 250 to about 300 degrees Celsius; the hot meltadhesive 6 can be heated to a temperature of about 200 to about 250degrees Celsius. The material of the hot melt adhesive is not limitedhere, and a material of allowing the hot melt adhesive to immediatelysolidify when absorb heat energy can also be used.

In one embodiment, the induction coil 11 may be fixed in position toallow the end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 to be moved into the inductioncoil 11 such that the hot melt adhesive 6 is heated to expand and flowand then solidify after cooling when the end cap 3 is again moved awayfrom the induction coil 11. Alternatively, the end cap 3 and the lamptube 1 may be fixed in position to allow the induction coil 11 to bemoved to encompass the end cap 3 such that the hot melt adhesive 6 isheated to expand and flow and then solidify after cooling when theinduction coil 11 is again moved away from the end cap 3. In oneembodiment, the external heating equipment for heating the magneticmetal member 9 is provided with a plurality of devices the same as theinduction coils 11, and the external heating equipment moves relative tothe end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 during the heating process. In thisway, the external heating equipment moves away from the end cap 3 whenthe heating process is completed. However, the length of the lamp tube 1is far greater than the length of the end cap 3 and may be up to above240 cm in some special appliances, and this may cause bad connectionbetween the end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 during the process that thelamp tube 1 accompany with the end cap 3 to relatively enter or leavethe induction coil 11 in the back and for the direction as mentionedabove when a position error exists.

Referring to FIG. 44, an external heating equipment 110 having aplurality sets of upper and lower semicircular fixtures 11 a is providedto achieve same heating effect as that brought by the induction coils11. In this way, the above-mentioned damage risk due to the relativemovement in back-and-forth direction can be reduced. The upper and lowersemicircular fixtures 11 a each has a semicircular coil made by windinga metal wire of, for example, about 5 mm to about 6 mm wide. Thecombination of the upper and lower semicircular fixtures form a ringwith a diameter, for example, of about 30 mm to about 35 mm, and theinside semicircular coils form a closed loop to become the inductioncoil 11 as mentioned. In this embodiment, the end cap 3 and the lamptube 1 do not relatively move in the back-and-forth manner, but rollinto the notch of the lower semicircular fixture. Specifically, an endcap 3 accompanied with a lamp tube 1 initially roll on a productionline, and then the end cap 3 rolls into the notch of a lowersemicircular fixture, and then the upper and the lower semicircularfixtures are combined to form a closed loop, and the fixtures aredetached when heating is completed. This method reduces the need forhigh position precision and yield problems in production.

Referring to FIG. 6, the electrically insulating tube 302 is furtherdivided into two parts, namely a first tubular part 302 d and a secondtubular part 302 e, i.e. the remaining part. In order to provide bettersupport of the magnetic metal member 9, an inner diameter of the firsttubular part 302 d for supporting the magnetic metal member 9 is largerthan the inner diameter of the second tubular part 302 e which does nothave the magnetic metal member 9, and a stepped structure is formed atthe connection of the first tubular part 302 d and the second tubularpart 302 e. In this way, an end of the magnetic metal member 9 as viewedin an axial direction is abutted against the stepped structure such thatthe entire inner surface of the end cap is smooth and plain.Additionally, the magnetic metal member 9 may be of various shapes,e.g., a sheet-like or tubular-like structure being circumferentiallyarranged or the like, where the magnetic metal member 9 is coaxiallyarranged with the electrically insulating tube 302.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the electrically insulating tube may befurther formed with a supporting portion 313 on the inner surface of theelectrically insulating tube 302 to be extending inwardly such that themagnetic metal member 9 is axially abutted against the upper edge of thesupporting portion 313. In some embodiments, the thickness of thesupporting portion 313 along the radial direction of the electricallyinsulating tube 302 is between 1 mm to 2 mm. The electrically insulatingtube 302 may be further formed with a protruding portion 310 on theinner surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 to be extendinginwardly such that the magnetic metal member 9 is radially abuttedagainst the side edge of the protruding portion 310 and that the outersurface of the magnetic metal member 9 and the inner surface of theelectrically insulating tube 302 is spaced apart with a gap. Thethickness of the protruding portion 310 along the radial direction ofthe electrically insulating tube 302 is less than the thickness of thesupporting portion 313 along the radial direction of the electricallyinsulating tube 302 and in some embodiments be 0.2 mm to 1 mm in anembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 9, the protruding portion 310 and the supportingportion are connected along the axial direction, and the magnetic metalmember 9 is axially abutted against the upper edge of the supportingportion 313 while radially abutted against the side edge of theprotruding portion 310 such that at least part of the protruding portion310 intervenes between the magnetic metal member 9 and the electricallyinsulating tube 302. The protruding portion 310 may be arranged alongthe circumferential direction of the electrically insulating tube 302 tohave a circular configuration. Alternatively, the protruding portion 310may be in the form of a plurality of bumps arranged on the inner surfaceof the electrically insulating tube 302. The bumps may be equidistantlyor non-equidistantly arranged along the inner circumferential surface ofthe electrically insulating tube 302 as long as the outer surface of themagnetic metal member 9 and the inner surface of the electricallyinsulating tube 302 are in a minimum contact and simultaneously hold thehot melt adhesive 6. In other embodiments, an entirely metal made endcap 3 could be used with an insulator disposed under the hollowconductive pin to endure the high voltage.

Referring to FIG. 10, in one embodiment, the magnetic metal member 9 canhave one or more openings 91 that are circular. However, the openings 91may instead be, for example, oval, square, star shaped, etc., as long asthe contact area between the magnetic metal member 9 and the innerperipheral surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 can bereduced and the function of the magnetic metal member 9 to heat the hotmelt adhesive 6 can be performed. In some embodiments, the openings 91occupy about 10% to about 50% of the surface area of the magnetic metalmember 9. The opening 91 can be arranged circumferentially on themagnetic metal member 9 in an equidistantly spaced or non-equidistantlyspaced manner.

Referring to FIG. 11, in other embodiments, the magnetic metal member 9has an indentation/embossment 93 on surface facing the electricallyinsulating tube 302. The embossment is raised from the inner surface ofthe magnetic metal member 9, while the indentation is depressed underthe inner surface of the magnetic metal member 9. Theindentation/embossment reduces the contact area between the innerperipheral surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 and the outersurface of the magnetic metal member 9 while maintaining the function ofmelting and curing the hot melt adhesive 6. In sum, the surface of themagnetic metal member 9 can be configured to have openings,indentations, or embossments or any combination thereof to achieve thegoal of reducing the contact area between the inner peripheral surfaceof the electrically insulating tube 302 and the outer surface of themagnetic metal member 9. At the same time, the firm adhesion between themagnetic metal member 9 and the lamp tube 1 should be secured toaccomplish the heating and solidification of the hot melt adhesive 6.

Referring to FIG. 12, in one embodiment, the magnetic metal member 9 isa circular ring. Referring to FIG. 13, in another embodiment, themagnetic metal member 9 is a non-circular ring such as but not limitedto an oval ring. When the magnetic metal member 9 is an oval ring, theminor axis of the oval ring is slightly larger than the outer diameterof the end region of the lamp tube 1 such that the contact area of theinner peripheral surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 and theouter surface of the magnetic metal member 9 is reduced and the functionof melting and curing the hot melt adhesive 6 still performs properly.For example, the inner surface of the electrically insulating tube 302may be formed with supporting portion 313 and the magnetic metal member9 in a non-circular ring shape is seated on the supporting portion 313.Thus, the contact area of the outer surface of the magnetic metal member9 and the inner surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 could bereduced while that the function of solidifying the hot melt adhesive 6could be performed. In other embodiments, the magnetic metal member 9can be disposed on the outer surface of the end cap 3 to replace thethermal conductive member 303 as shown in FIG. 5 and to perform thefunction of heating and solidifying the hot melt adhesive 6 viaelectromagnetic induction.

Referring to FIGS. 45 to 47, in other embodiments, the magnetic metalmember 9 may be omitted. Instead, in some embodiments, the hot meltadhesive 6 has a predetermined proportion of high permeability powders65 having relative permeability ranging, for example, from about 102 toabout 106. The powders can be used to replace the calcite powdersoriginally included in the hot melt adhesive 6, and in certainembodiments, a volume ratio of the high permeability powders 65 to thecalcite powders may be about 1:3^(˜)1:1. In some embodiments, thematerial of the high permeability powders 65 is one of iron, nickel,cobalt, alloy thereof, or any combination thereof; the weight percentageof the high permeability powders 65 with respect to the hot meltadhesive is about 10% to about 50%; and/or the powders may have meanparticle size of about 1 to about 30 micrometers. Such a hot meltadhesive 6 allows the end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 to adhere togetherand be qualified in a destruction test, a torque test, and a bendingtest. Generally speaking, the bending test standard for the end cap ofthe LED tube lamp is greater than 5 newton-meters (Nt-m), while thetorque test standard is greater than 1.5 newton-meters (Nt-m). In oneembodiment, upon the ratio of the high permeability powders 65 to thehot melt adhesive 6 and the magnetic flux applied, the end cap 3 and theend of the lamp tube 1 secured by using the hot melt adhesive 6 arequalified in a torque test of 1.5 to 5 newton-meters (Nt-m) and abending test of 5 to 10 newton-meters (Nt-m). The induction coil 11 isfirst switched on and allow the high permeability powders uniformlydistributed in the hot melt adhesive 6 to be charged, and thereforeallow the hot melt adhesive 6 to be heated to be expansive and flowingand then solidified after cooling. Thereby, the goal of adhering the endcap 3 onto the lamp tube 1 is achieved.

Referring to FIGS. 45 to 47, the high permeability powders 65 may havedifferent distribution manners in the hot melt adhesive 6. As shown inFIG. 45, the high permeability powders 65 have mean particle size (e.g.,diameter) of about 1 to about 5 micrometers, and are distributeduniformly in the hot melt adhesive 6. When such a hot melt adhesive 6 iscoated on the inner surface of the end cap 3, though the highpermeability powders 65 cannot form a closed loop due to the uniformdistribution, they can still be heated due to magnetic hysteresis in theelectromagnetic field, so as to heat the hot melt adhesive 6. As shownin FIG. 46, the high permeability powders 65 have mean particle size ofabout 1 to about 5 micrometers, and are distributed randomly in the hotmelt adhesive 6. When such a hot melt adhesive 6 is coated on the innersurface of the end cap 3, the high permeability powders 65 form a closedloop due to the random distribution; they can be heated due to magnetichysteresis or the closed loop in the electromagnetic field, so as toheat the hot melt adhesive 6. As shown in FIG. 47, the high permeabilitypowders 65 have mean particle size of about 5 to about 30 micrometers,and are distributed randomly in the hot melt adhesive 6. When such a hotmelt adhesive 6 is coated on the inner surface of the end cap 3, thehigh permeability powders 65 form a closed loop due to the randomdistribution; they can be heated due to magnetic hysteresis or theclosed loop in the electromagnetic field, so as to heat the hot meltadhesive 6. Accordingly, depending on the adjustment of the particlesize, the distribution density and the distribution manner of the highpermeability powders 65, and the electromagnetic flux applied to the endcap 3, the heating temperature of the hot melt adhesive 6 can becontrolled. In one embodiment, the hot melt adhesive 6 is flowing andsolidified after cooling from a temperature of about 200 to about 250degrees Celsius. In another embodiment, the hot melt adhesive 6 isimmediately solidified at a temperature of about 200 to about 250degrees Celsius.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 39, in one embodiment, an end cap 3′ has apillar 312 at one end, the top end of the pillar 312 is provided with anopening having a groove 314 of, for example 0.1±1% mm depth at theperiphery thereof for positioning a conductive lead 53 as shown in FIG.39. The conductive lead 53 passes through the opening on top of thepillar 312 and has its end bent to be disposed in the groove 314. Afterthat, a conductive metallic cap 311 covers the pillar 312 such that theconductive lead 53 is fixed between the pillar 312 and the conductivemetallic cap 311. In some embodiments, the inner diameter of theconductive metallic cap 311 is 7.56±5% mm, the outer diameter of thepillar 312 is 7.23±5% mm, and the outer diameter of the conductive lead53 is 0.5±1% mm Nevertheless, the mentioned sizes are not limited hereonce that the conductive metallic cap 311 closely covers the pillar 312without using extra adhesives and therefore completes the electricalconnection between the power supply 5 and the conductive metallic cap311.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, 12, and 13, in one embodiment, the end cap 3may have openings 304 to dissipate heat generated by the power supplymodules inside the end cap 3 so as to prevent a high temperaturecondition inside the end cap 3 that might reduce reliability. In someembodiments, the openings are in a shape of an arc; especially in ashape of three arcs with different size. In one embodiment, the openingsare in a shape of three arcs with gradually varying size. The openingson the end cap 3 can be in any one of the above-mentioned shape or anycombination thereof.

In other embodiments, the end cap 3 is provided with a socket (notshown) for installing the power supply module.

Referring to FIG. 17, in one embodiment, the lamp tube 1 further has adiffusion film 13 coated and bonded to the inner surface thereof so thatthe light outputted or emitted from the LED light sources 202 isdiffused by the diffusion film 13 and then pass through the lamp tube 1.The diffusion film 13 can be in form of various types, such as a coatingonto the inner surface or outer wall of the lamp tube 1, or a diffusioncoating layer (not shown) coated at the surface of each LED light source202, or a separate membrane covering the LED light source 202.

Referring again to FIG. 17, in one embodiment, when the diffusion film13 is in the form of a sheet, it covers but is not in contact with theLED light sources 202. The diffusion film 13 in the form of a sheet isusually called an optical diffusion sheet or board, usually a compositemade of mixing diffusion particles into polystyrene (PS), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and/orpolycarbonate (PC), and/or any combination thereof. The light passingthrough such composite is diffused to expand in a wide range of spacesuch as a light emitted from a plane source, and therefore makes thebrightness of the LED tube lamp uniform.

In alternative embodiments, the diffusion film 13 is in form of anoptical diffusion coating, which is composed of any one of calciumcarbonate, halogen calcium phosphate and aluminum oxide, or anycombination thereof. When the optical diffusion coating is made from acalcium carbonate with suitable solution, an excellent light diffusioneffect and transmittance to exceed 90% can be obtained. Furthermore, thediffusion film 13 in form of an optical diffusion coating may be appliedto an outer surface of the rear end region 101 having the hot meltadhesive 6 to produce increased friction resistance between the end cap3 and the rear end region 101. Compared with an example without anyoptical diffusion coating, the rear end region 101 having the diffusionfilm 13 is beneficial, for example for preventing accidental detachmentof the end cap 3 from the lamp tube 1.

In one embodiment, the composition of the diffusion film 13 in form ofthe optical diffusion coating includes calcium carbonate, strontiumphosphate (e.g., CMS-5000, white powder), thickener, and a ceramicactivated carbon (e.g., ceramic activated carbon SW—C, which is acolorless liquid). Specifically, in one example, such an opticaldiffusion coating on the inner circumferential surface of the glass tubehas an average thickness ranging between about 20 and about 30 μm. Alight transmittance of the diffusion film 13 using this opticaldiffusion coating is about 90%. Generally speaking, the lighttransmittance of the diffusion film 13 ranges from 85% to 96%. Inaddition, this diffusion film 13 can also provide electrical isolationfor reducing risk of electric shock to a user upon breakage of the lamptube 1. Furthermore, the diffusion film 13 provides an improvedillumination distribution uniformity of the light outputted by the LEDlight sources 202 such that the light can illuminate the back of thelight sources 202 and the side edges of the bendable circuit sheet so asto avoid the formation of dark regions inside the lamp tube 1 andimprove the illumination comfort. In another possible embodiment, thelight transmittance of the diffusion film can be 92% to 94% while thethickness ranges from about 200 to about 300 μm.

In another embodiment, the optical diffusion coating can also be made ofa mixture including a calcium carbonate-based substance, some reflectivesubstances like strontium phosphate or barium sulfate, a thickeningagent, ceramic activated carbon, and deionized water. The mixture iscoated on the inner circumferential surface of the glass tube and has anaverage thickness ranging between about 20 and about 30 μm. In view ofthe diffusion phenomena in microscopic terms, light is reflected byparticles. The particle size of the reflective substance such asstrontium phosphate or barium sulfate will be much larger than theparticle size of the calcium carbonate. Therefore, adding a small amountof reflective substance in the optical diffusion coating can effectivelyincrease the diffusion effect of light.

In other embodiments, halogen calcium phosphate or aluminum oxide canalso serve as the main material for forming the diffusion film 13. Theparticle size of the calcium carbonate is, for example, about 2 to 4 μm,while the particle size of the halogen calcium phosphate and aluminumoxide are about 4 to 6 μm and 1 to 2 μm, respectively. When the lighttransmittance is required to be 85% to 92%, the average thickness forthe optical diffusion coating mainly having the calcium carbonate may beabout 20 to about 30 μm, while the average thickness for the opticaldiffusion coating mainly having the halogen calcium phosphate may beabout 25 to about 35 μm, and/or the average thickness for the opticaldiffusion coating mainly having the aluminum oxide may be about 10 toabout 15 μm. However, when the required light transmittance is up to 92%and even higher, the optical diffusion coating mainly having the calciumcarbonate, the halogen calcium phosphate, or the aluminum oxide shouldbe even thinner.

The main material and the corresponding thickness of the opticaldiffusion coating can be decided according to the place for which thelamp tube 1 is used and the light transmittance required. It is notedthat the higher the light transmittance of the diffusion film isrequired, the more apparent the grainy visual of the light sources is.

Referring to FIG. 17, the inner circumferential surface of the lamp tube1 may also be provided or bonded with a reflective film 12. Thereflective film 12 is provided around the LED light sources 202, andoccupies a portion of an area of the inner circumferential surface ofthe lamp tube 1 arranged along the circumferential direction thereof. Asshown in FIG. 17, the reflective film 12 is disposed at two sides of theLED light strip 2 extending along a circumferential direction of thelamp tube 1. The LED light strip 2 is basically in a middle position ofthe lamp tube 1 and between the two reflective films 12. The reflectivefilm 12, when viewed by a person looking at the lamp tube from the side(in the X-direction shown in FIG. 17), serves to block the LED lightsources 202, so that the person does not directly see the LED lightsources 202, thereby reducing the visual graininess effect. On the otherhand, that the lights emitted from the LED light sources 202 arereflected by the reflective film 12 facilitates the divergence anglecontrol of the LED tube lamp, so that more lights illuminate towarddirections without the reflective film 12, such that the LED tube lamphas higher energy efficiency when providing the same level ofillumination performance.

Specifically, the reflection film 12 is provided on the inner peripheralsurface of the lamp tube 1, and has an opening 12 a configured toaccommodate the LED light strip 2. The size of the opening 12 a is thesame or slightly larger than the size of the LED light strip 2. Duringassembly, the LED light sources 202 are mounted on the LED light strip 2(a bendable circuit sheet) provided on the inner surface of the lamptube 1, and then the reflective film 12 is adhered to the inner surfaceof the lamp tube 1, so that the opening 12 a of the reflective film 12correspondingly matches the LED light strip 2 in a one-to-onerelationship, and the LED light strip 2 is exposed to the outside of thereflective film 12.

In one embodiment, the reflectance of the reflective film 12 isgenerally at least greater than 85%, in some embodiments greater than90%, and in some embodiments greater than 95%, to be most effective. Inone embodiment, the reflective film 12 extends circumferentially alongthe length of the lamp tube 1 occupying about 30% to 50% of the innersurface area of the lamp tube 1. In other words, a ratio of acircumferential length of the reflective film 12 along the innercircumferential surface of the lamp tube 1 to a circumferential lengthof the lamp tube 1 is about 0.3 to 0.5. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 17, the reflective film 12 is disposed substantially in the middlealong a circumferential direction of the lamp tube 1, so that the twodistinct portions or sections of the reflective film 12 disposed on thetwo sides of the LED light strip 2 are substantially equal in area. Thereflective film 12 may be made of PET with some reflective materialssuch as strontium phosphate or barium sulfate or any combinationthereof, with a thickness between about 140 μm and about 350 μm orbetween about 150 μm and about 220 μm for a more preferred effect insome embodiments. As shown in FIG. 18, in other embodiments, thereflective film 12 may be provided along the circumferential directionof the lamp tube 1 on only one side of the LED light strip 2 whileoccupying the same percentage of the inner surface area of the lamp tube1 (e.g., 15% to 25% for the one side). Alternatively, as shown in FIGS.19 and 20, the reflective film 12 may be provided without any opening,and the reflective film 12 is directly adhered or mounted to the innersurface of the lamp tube 1 and followed by mounting or fixing the LEDlight strip 2 on the reflective film 12 such that the reflective film 12positioned on one side or two sides of the LED light strip 2.

In the above mentioned embodiments, various types of the reflective film12 and the diffusion film 13 can be adopted to accomplish opticaleffects including single reflection, single diffusion, and/or combinedreflection-diffusion. For example, the lamp tube 1 may be provided withonly the reflective film 12, and no diffusion film 13 is disposed insidethe lamp tube 1, such as shown in FIGS. 19, 20, and 21.

In other embodiments, the width of the LED light strip 2 (along thecircumferential direction of the lamp tube) can be widened to occupy acircumference area of the inner circumferential surface of the lamp tube1. Since the LED light strip 2 has on its surface a circuit protectivelayer made of an ink which can reflect lights, the widen part of the LEDlight strip 2 functions like the reflective film 12 as mentioned above.In some embodiments, a ratio of the length of the LED light strip 2along the circumferential direction to the circumferential length of thelamp tube 1 is about 0.3 to 0.5. The light emitted from the lightsources could be concentrated by the reflection of the widen part of theLED light strip 2.

In other embodiments, the inner surface of the glass made lamp tube maybe coated totally with the optical diffusion coating, or partially withthe optical diffusion coating (where the reflective film 12 is coatedhave no optical diffusion coating). No matter in what coating manner, insome embodiments, it is more desirable that the optical diffusioncoating be coated on the outer surface of the rear end region of thelamp tube 1 so as to firmly secure the end cap 3 with the lamp tube 1.

In the present invention, the light emitted from the light sources maybe processed with the abovementioned diffusion film, reflective film,other kinds of diffusion layer sheets, adhesive film, or any combinationthereof.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the LED tube lamp according to someembodiments of present invention also includes an adhesive sheet 4, aninsulation adhesive sheet 7, and an optical adhesive sheet 8. The LEDlight strip 2 is fixed by the adhesive sheet 4 to an innercircumferential surface of the lamp tube 1. The adhesive sheet 4 may bebut is not limited to a silicone adhesive. The adhesive sheet 4 may bein form of several short pieces or a long piece. Various kinds of theadhesive sheet 4, the insulation adhesive sheet 7, and the opticaladhesive sheet 8 can be used to constitute various embodiments of thepresent invention.

The insulation adhesive sheet 7 is coated on the surface of the LEDlight strip 2 that faces the LED light sources 202 so that the LED lightstrip 2 is not exposed and thus electrically insulated from the outsideenvironment. In application of the insulation adhesive sheet 7, aplurality of through holes 71 on the insulation adhesive sheet 7 arereserved to correspondingly accommodate the LED light sources 202 suchthat the LED light sources 202 are mounted in the through holes 701. Thematerial composition of the insulation adhesive sheet 7 may include, forexample vinyl silicone, hydrogen polysiloxane and aluminum oxide. Theinsulation adhesive sheet 7 has a thickness, for example, ranging fromabout 100 μm to about 140 μm (micrometers). The insulation adhesivesheet 7 having a thickness less than 100 μm typically does not producesufficient insulating effect, while the insulation adhesive sheet 7having a thickness more than 140 μm may result in material waste.

The optical adhesive sheet 8, which is a clear or transparent material,is applied or coated on the surface of the LED light source 202 in orderto ensure optimal light transmittance. After being applied to the LEDlight sources 202, the optical adhesive sheet 8 may have a granular,strip-like or sheet-like shape. The performance of the optical adhesivesheet 8 depends on its refractive index and thickness. The refractiveindex of the optical adhesive sheet 8 is in some embodiments between1.22 and 1.6. In some embodiments, it is better for the optical adhesivesheet 8 to have a refractive index being a square root of the refractiveindex of the housing or casing of the LED light source 202, or thesquare root of the refractive index of the housing or casing of the LEDlight source 202 plus or minus 15%, to contribute better lighttransmittance. The housing/casing of the LED light sources 202 is astructure to accommodate and carry the LED dies (or chips) such as a LEDlead frame 202 b as shown in FIG. 37. The refractive index of theoptical adhesive sheet 8 may range from 1.225 to 1.253. In someembodiments, the thickness of the optical adhesive sheet 8 may rangefrom 1.1 mm to 1.3 mm. The optical adhesive sheet 8 having a thicknessless than 1.1 mm may not be able to cover the LED light sources 202,while the optical adhesive sheet 8 having a thickness more than 1.3 mmmay reduce light transmittance and increases material cost.

In some embodiments, in the process of assembling the LED light sourcesto the LED light strip, the optical adhesive sheet 8 is first applied onthe LED light sources 202; then the insulation adhesive sheet 7 iscoated on one side of the LED light strip 2; then the LED light sources202 are fixed or mounted on the LED light strip 2; the other side of theLED light strip 2 being opposite to the side of mounting the LED lightsources 202 is bonded and affixed to the inner surface of the lamp tube1 by the adhesive sheet 4; finally, the end cap 3 is fixed to the endportion of the lamp tube 1, and the LED light sources 202 and the powersupply 5 are electrically connected by the LED light strip 2. As shownin the embodiment of FIG. 22, the bendable circuit sheet 2 passes thetransition region 103 to be soldered or traditionally wire-bonded withthe power supply 5, and then the end cap 3 having the structure as shownin FIG. 3 or 4 or FIG. 6 is adhered to the strengthened transitionregion 103 via methods as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 7, respectively toform a complete LED tube lamp.

In this embodiment, the LED light strip 2 is fixed by the adhesive sheet4 to an inner circumferential surface of the lamp tube 1, so as toincrease the light illumination angle of the LED tube lamp and broadenthe viewing angle to be greater than 330 degrees. By means of applyingthe insulation adhesive sheet 7 and the optical adhesive sheet 8,electrical insulation of the entire light strip 2 is accomplished suchthat electrical shock would not occur even when the lamp tube 1 isbroken and therefore safety could be improved.

Furthermore, the inner peripheral surface or the outer circumferentialsurface of the glass made lamp tube 1 may be covered or coated with anadhesive film (not shown) to isolate the inside from the outside of theglass made lamp tube 1 when the glass made lamp tube 1 is broken. Inthis embodiment, the adhesive film is coated on the inner peripheralsurface of the lamp tube 1. The material for the coated adhesive filmincludes, for example, methyl vinyl silicone oil, hydro silicone oil,xylene, and calcium carbonate, wherein xylene is used as an auxiliarymaterial. The xylene will be volatilized and removed when the coatedadhesive film on the inner surface of the lamp tube 1 solidifies orhardens. The xylene is mainly used to adjust the capability of adhesionand therefore to control the thickness of the coated adhesive film.

In one embodiment, the thickness of the coated adhesive film ispreferably between about 100 and about 140 micrometers (μm). Theadhesive film having a thickness being less than 100 micrometers may nothave sufficient shatterproof capability for the glass tube, and theglass tube is thus prone to crack or shatter. The adhesive film having athickness being larger than 140 micrometers may reduce the lighttransmittance and also increase material cost. The thickness of thecoated adhesive film may be between about 10 and about 800 micrometers(μm) when the shatterproof capability and the light transmittance arenot strictly demanded.

In one embodiment, the inner peripheral surface or the outercircumferential surface of the glass made lamp tube 1 is coated with anadhesive film such that the broken pieces are adhered to the adhesivefilm when the glass made lamp tube is broken. Therefore, the lamp tube 1would not be penetrated to form a through hole connecting the inside andoutside of the lamp tube 1 and thus prevents a user from touching anycharged object inside the lamp tube 1 to avoid electrical shock. Inaddition, the adhesive film is able to diffuse light and allows thelight to transmit such that the light uniformity and the lighttransmittance of the entire LED tube lamp increases. The adhesive filmcan be used in combination with the adhesive sheet 4, the insulationadhesive sheet 7 and the optical adhesive sheet 8 to constitute variousembodiments of the present invention. As the LED light strip 2 isconfigured to be a bendable circuit sheet, no coated adhesive film isthereby required.

Furthermore, the light strip 2 may be an elongated aluminum plate, FR 4board, or a bendable circuit sheet. When the lamp tube 1 is made ofglass, adopting a rigid aluminum plate or FR4 board would make a brokenlamp tube, e.g., broken into two parts, remain a straight shape so thata user may be under a false impression that the LED tube lamp is stillusable and fully functional, and it is easy for him to incur electricshock upon handling or installation of the LED tube lamp. Because ofadded flexibility and bendability of the flexible substrate for the LEDlight strip 2, the problem faced by the aluminum plate, FR4 board, or3-layered flexible board having inadequate flexibility and bendability,are thereby addressed. In certain embodiments, a bendable circuit sheetis adopted as the LED light strip 2 for that such a LED light strip 2would not allow a ruptured or broken lamp tube to maintain a straightshape and therefore instantly inform the user of the disability of theLED tube lamp and avoid possibly incurred electrical shock. Thefollowing are further descriptions of the bendable circuit sheet used asthe LED light strip 2.

Referring to FIG. 23, in one embodiment, the LED light strip 2 includesa bendable circuit sheet having a conductive wiring layer 2 a and adielectric layer 2 b that are arranged in a stacked manner, wherein thewiring layer 2 a and the dielectric layer 2 b have same areas. The LEDlight source 202 is disposed on one surface of the wiring layer 2 a, thedielectric layer 2 b is disposed on the other surface of the wiringlayer 2 a that is away from the LED light sources 202. The wiring layer2 a is electrically connected to the power supply 5 to carry directcurrent (DC) signals. Meanwhile, the surface of the dielectric layer 2 baway from the wiring layer 2 a is fixed to the inner circumferentialsurface of the lamp tube 1 by means of the adhesive sheet 4. The wiringlayer 2 a can be a metal layer or a power supply layer including wiressuch as copper wires.

In another embodiment, the outer surface of the wiring layer 2 a or thedielectric layer 2 b may be covered with a circuit protective layer madeof an ink with function of resisting soldering and increasingreflectivity. Alternatively, the dielectric layer can be omitted and thewiring layer can be directly bonded to the inner circumferential surfaceof the lamp tube, and the outer surface of the wiring layer 2 a iscoated with the circuit protective layer. Whether the wiring layer 2 ahas a one-layered, or two-layered structure, the circuit protectivelayer can be adopted. In some embodiments, the circuit protective layeris disposed only on one side/surface of the LED light strip 2, such asthe surface having the LED light source 202. In some embodiments, thebendable circuit sheet is a one-layered structure made of just onewiring layer 2 a, or a two-layered structure made of one wiring layer 2a and one dielectric layer 2 b, and thus is more bendable or flexible tocurl when compared with the three-layered flexible substrate (onedielectric layer sandwiched with two wiring layers). As a result, thebendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip 2 can be installed in alamp tube with a customized shape or non-tubular shape, and fitlymounted to the inner surface of the lamp tube. The bendable circuitsheet closely mounted to the inner surface of the lamp tube ispreferable in some cases. In addition, using fewer layers of thebendable circuit sheet improves the heat dissipation and lowers thematerial cost.

Nevertheless, the bendable circuit sheet is not limited to beingone-layered or two-layered; in other embodiments, the bendable circuitsheet may include multiple layers of the wiring layers 2 a and multiplelayers of the dielectric layers 2 b, in which the dielectric layers 2 band the wiring layers 2 a are sequentially stacked in a staggeredmanner, respectively. These stacked layers are away from the surface ofthe outermost wiring layer 2 a which has the LED light source 202disposed thereon and is electrically connected to the power supply 5.Moreover, the length of the bendable circuit sheet is greater than thelength of the lamp tube.

Referring to FIG. 48, in one embodiment, the LED light strip 2 includesa bendable circuit sheet having in sequence a first wiring layer 2 a, adielectric layer 2 b, and a second wiring layer 2 c. The thickness ofthe second wiring layer 2 c is greater than that of the first wiringlayer 2 a, and the length of the LED light strip 2 is greater than thatof the lamp tube 1. The end region of the light strip 2 extending beyondthe end portion of the lamp tube 1 without disposition of the lightsource 202 is formed with two separate through holes 203 and 204 torespectively electrically communicate the first wiring layer 2 a and thesecond wiring layer 2 c. The through holes 203 and 204 are notcommunicated to each other to avoid short.

In this way, the greater thickness of the second wiring layer 2 c allowsthe second wiring layer 2 c to support the first wiring layer 2 a andthe dielectric layer 2 b, and meanwhile allow the LED light strip 2 tobe mounted onto the inner circumferential surface without being liableto shift or deform, and thus the yield rate of product can be improved.In addition, the first wiring layer 2 a and the second wiring layer 2 care in electrical communication such that the circuit layout of thefirst wiring later 2 a can be extended downward to the second wiringlayer 2 c to reach the circuit layout of the entire LED light strip 2.Moreover, since the land for the circuit layout becomes two-layered, thearea of each single layer and therefore the width of the LED light strip2 can be reduced such that more LED light strips 2 can be put on aproduction line to increase productivity.

Furthermore, the first wiring layer 2 a and the second wiring layer 2 cof the end region of the LED light strip 2 that extends beyond the endportion of the lamp tube 1 without disposition of the light source 202can be used to accomplish the circuit layout of a power supply module sothat the power supply module can be directly disposed on the bendablecircuit sheet of the LED light strip 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the LED light strip 2 has aplurality of LED light sources 202 mounted thereon, and the end cap 3has a power supply 5 installed therein. The LED light sources 202 andthe power supply 5 are electrically connected by the LED light strip 2.The power supply 5 may be a single integrated unit (i.e., all of thepower supply components are integrated into one module unit) installedin one end cap 3. Alternatively, the power supply 5 may be divided intotwo separate units (i.e. the power supply components are divided intotwo parts) installed in two end caps 3, respectively. When only one endof the lamp tube 1 is strengthened by a glass tempering process, it maybe preferable that the power supply 5 is a single integrated unit andinstalled in the end cap 3 corresponding to the strengthened end of thelamp tube 1.

The power supply 5 can be fabricated by various ways. For example, thepower supply 5 may be an encapsulation body formed by injection moldinga silica gel with high thermal conductivity such as being greater than0.7 w/m·k. This kind of power supply has advantages of high electricalinsulation, high heat dissipation, and regular shape to match othercomponents in an assembly. Alternatively, the power supply 5 in the endcaps may be a printed circuit board having components that are directlyexposed or packaged by a heat shrink sleeve. The power supply 5according to some embodiments of the present invention can be a singleprinted circuit board provided with a power supply module as shown inFIG. 23 or a single integrated unit as shown in FIG. 38.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 38, in one embodiment of the present invention,the power supply 5 is provided with a male plug 51 at one end and ametal pin 52 at the other end, one end of the LED light strip 2 iscorrespondingly provided with a female plug 201, and the end cap 3 isprovided with a hollow conductive pin 301 to be connected with an outerelectrical power source. Specifically, the male plug 51 is fittinglyinserted into the female plug 201 of the LED light strip 2, while themetal pins 52 are fittingly inserted into the hollow conductive pins 301of the end cap 3. The male plug 51 and the female plug 201 function as aconnector between the power supply 5 and the LED light strip 2. Uponinsertion of the metal pin 502, the hollow conductive pin 301 is punchedwith an external punching tool to slightly deform such that the metalpin 502 of the power supply 5 is secured and electrically connected tothe hollow conductive pin 301. Upon turning on the electrical power, theelectrical current passes in sequence through the hollow conductive pin301, the metal pin 502, the male plug 501, and the female plug 201 toreach the LED light strip 2 and go to the LED light sources 202.However, the power supply 5 of the present invention is not limited tothe modular type as shown in FIG. 38. The power supply 5 may be aprinted circuit board provided with a power supply module andelectrically connected to the LED light strip 2 via the abovementionedthe male plug 51 and female plug 52 combination.

In another embodiment, a traditional wire bonding technique can be usedinstead of the male plug 51 and the female plug 52 for connecting anykind of the power supply 5 and the light strip 2. Furthermore, the wiresmay be wrapped with an electrically insulating tube to protect a userfrom being electrically shocked.

In still another embodiment, the connection between the power supply 5and the LED light strip 2 may be accomplished via tin soldering, rivetbonding, or welding. One way to secure the LED light strip 2 is toprovide the adhesive sheet 4 at one side thereof and adhere the LEDlight strip 2 to the inner surface of the lamp tube 1 via the adhesivesheet 4. Two ends of the LED light strip 2 can be either fixed to ordetached from the inner surface of the lamp tube 1.

In case that two ends of the LED light strip 2 are fixed to the innersurface of the lamp tube 1, it may be preferable that the bendablecircuit sheet of the LED light strip 2 is provided with the female plug201 and the power supply is provided with the male plug 51 to accomplishthe connection between the LED light strip 2 and the power supply 5. Inthis case, the male plug 51 of the power supply 5 is inserted into thefemale plug 201 to establish electrical connection.

In case that two ends of the LED light strip 2 are detached from theinner surface of the lamp tube and that the LED light strip 2 isconnected to the power supply 5 via wire-bonding, any movement insubsequent transportation is likely to cause the bonded wires to break.Therefore, an option for the connection between the light strip 2 andthe power supply 5 could be soldering. Specifically, referring to FIG.22, the ends of the LED light strip 2 including the bendable circuitsheet are arranged to pass over the strengthened transition region 103and directly soldering bonded to an output terminal of the power supply5 such that the product quality is improved without using wires. In thisway, the female plug 201 and the male plug 51 respectively provided forthe LED light strip 2 and the power supply 5 are no longer needed.

Referring to FIG. 24, an output terminal of the printed circuit board ofthe power supply 5 may have soldering pads “a” provided with an amountof tin solder with a thickness sufficient to later form a solder joint.Correspondingly, the ends of the LED light strip 2 may have solderingpads “b”. The soldering pads “a” on the output terminal of the printedcircuit board of the power supply 5 are soldered to the soldering pads“b” on the LED light strip 2 via the tin solder on the soldering pads“a”. The soldering pads “a” and the soldering pads “b” may be face toface during soldering such that the connection between the LED lightstrip 2 and the printed circuit board of the power supply 5 is the mostfirm. However, this kind of soldering typically includes that athermo-compression head presses on the rear surface of the LED lightstrip 2 and heats the tine solder, i.e. the LED light strip 2 intervenesbetween the thermo-compression head and the tin solder, and thereforemay easily cause reliability problems. Referring to FIG. 30, a throughhole may be formed in each of the soldering pads “b” on the LED lightstrip 2 to allow the soldering pads “b” overlay the soldering pads “b”without face-to-face and the thermo-compression head directly pressestin solders on the soldering pads “a” on surface of the printed circuitboard of the power supply 5 when the soldering pads “a” and thesoldering pads “b” are vertically aligned. This is an easy way toaccomplish in practice.

Referring again to FIG. 24, two ends of the LED light strip 2 detachedfrom the inner surface of the lamp tube 1 are formed as freely extendingportions 21, while most of the LED light strip 2 is attached and securedto the inner surface of the lamp tube 1. One of the freely extendingportions 21 has the soldering pads “b” as mentioned above. Uponassembling of the LED tube lamp, the freely extending end portions 21along with the soldered connection of the printed circuit board of thepower supply 5 and the LED light strip 2 would be coiled, curled up ordeformed to be fittingly accommodated inside the lamp tube 1. When thebendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip 2 includes in sequence thefirst wiring layer 2 a, the dielectric layer 2 b, and the second wiringlayer 2 c as shown in FIG. 48, the freely extending end portions 21 canbe used to accomplish the connection between the first wiring layer 2 aand the second wiring layer 2 c and arrange the circuit layout of thepower supply 5.

In this embodiment, during the connection of the LED light strip 2 andthe power supply 5, the soldering pads “b” and the soldering pads “a”and the LED light sources 202 are on surfaces facing toward the samedirection and the soldering pads “b” on the LED light strip 2 are eachformed with a through hole “e” as shown in FIG. 30 such that thesoldering pads “b” and the soldering pads “a” communicate with eachother via the through holes “e”. When the freely extending end portions21 are deformed due to contraction or curling up, the solderedconnection of the printed circuit board of the power supply 5 and theLED light strip 2 exerts a lateral tension on the power supply 5.Furthermore, the soldered connection of the printed circuit board of thepower supply 5 and the LED light strip 2 also exerts a downward tensionon the power supply 5 when compared with the situation where thesoldering pads “a” of the power supply 5 and the soldering pads “b” ofthe LED light strip 2 are face to face. This downward tension on thepower supply 5 comes from the tin solders inside the through holes “e”and forms a stronger and more secure electrical connection between theLED light strip 2 and the power supply 5.

Referring to FIG. 25, in one embodiment, the soldering pads “b” of theLED light strip 2 are two separate pads to electrically connect thepositive and negative electrodes of the bendable circuit sheet of theLED light strip 2, respectively. The size of the soldering pads “b” maybe, for example, about 3.5×2 mm2. The printed circuit board of the powersupply 5 is correspondingly provided with soldering pads “a” havingreserved tin solders, and the height of the tin solders suitable forsubsequent automatic soldering bonding process is generally, forexample, about 0.1 to 0.7 mm, in some preferable embodiments about 0.3to about 0.5 mm, and in some even more preferable embodiments about 0.4mm. An electrically insulating through hole “c” may be formed betweenthe two soldering pads “b” to isolate and prevent the two soldering padsfrom electrically short during soldering. Furthermore, an extrapositioning opening “d” may also be provided behind the electricallyinsulating through hole “c” to allow an automatic soldering machine toquickly recognize the position of the soldering pads “b”.

For the sake of achieving scalability and compatibility, the amount ofthe soldering pads “b” on each end of the LED light strip 2 may be morethan one such as two, three, four, or more than four. When there is onlyone soldering pad “b” provided at each end of the LED light strip 2, thetwo ends of the LED light strip 2 are electrically connected to thepower supply 5 to form a loop, and various electrical components can beused. For example, a capacitance may be replaced by an inductance toperform current regulation. Referring to FIGS. 26 to 28, when each endof the LED light strip 2 has three soldering pads, the third solderingpad can be grounded; when each end of the LED light strip 2 has foursoldering pads, the fourth soldering pad can be used as a signal inputterminal. Correspondingly, in some embodiments, the power supply 5should have same amount of soldering pads “a” as that of the solderingpads “b” on the LED light strip 2. In some embodiments, as long aselectrical short between the soldering pads “b” can be prevented, thesoldering pads “b” should be arranged according to the dimension of theactual area for disposition, for example, three soldering pads can bearranged in a row or two rows. In other embodiments, the amount of thesoldering pads “b” on the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip2 may be reduced by rearranging the circuits on the bendable circuitsheet of the LED light strip 2. The lesser the amount of the solderingpads, the easier the fabrication process becomes. On the other hand, agreater number of soldering pads may improve and secure the electricalconnection between the LED light strip 2 and the output terminal of thepower supply 5.

Referring to FIG. 30, in another embodiment, the soldering pads “b” eachis formed with a through hole “e” having a diameter generally of about 1to 2 mm, in some preferred embodiments of about 1.2 to 1 8 mm, and inyet further preferred embodiments of about 1.5 mm. The through hole “e”communicates the soldering pad “a” with the soldering pad “b” so thatthe tin solder on the soldering pads “a” passes through the throughholes “e” and finally reach the soldering pads “b”. A smaller throughhole “e” would make it difficult for the tin solder to pass. The tinsolder accumulates around the through holes “e” upon exiting the throughholes “e” and condense to form a solder ball “g” with a larger diameterthan that of the through holes “e” upon condensing. Such a solder ball“g” functions as a rivet to further increase the stability of theelectrical connection between the soldering pads “a” on the power supply5 and the soldering pads “b” on the LED light strip 2.

Referring to FIGS. 31 to 32, in other embodiments, when a distance fromthe through hole “e” to the side edge of the LED light strip 2 is lessthan 1 mm, the tin solder may pass through the through hole “e” toaccumulate on the periphery of the through hole “e”, and extra tinsolder may spill over the soldering pads “b” to reflow along the sideedge of the LED light strip 2 and join the tin solder on the solderingpads “a” of the power supply 5. The tin solder then condenses to form astructure like a rivet to firmly secure the LED light strip 2 onto theprinted circuit board of the power supply 5 such that reliable electricconnection is achieved. Referring to FIGS. 33 and 34, in anotherembodiment, the through hole “e” can be replaced by a notch “f” formedat the side edge of the soldering pads “b” for the tin solder to easilypass through the notch “f” and accumulate on the periphery of the notch“f” and to form a solder ball with a larger diameter than that of thenotch “e” upon condensing. Such a solder ball may be formed like aC-shape rivet to enhance the secure capability of the electricallyconnecting structure.

The abovementioned through hole “e” or notch “f” might be formed inadvance of soldering or formed by direct punching with athermo-compression head, as shown in FIG. 40, during soldering. Theportion of the thermo-compression head for touching the tin solder maybe flat, concave, or convex, or any combination thereof. The portion ofthe thermo-compression head for restraining the object to be solderedsuch as the LED light strip 2 may be strip-like or grid-like. Theportion of the thermo-compression head for touching the tin solder doesnot completely cover the through hole “e” or the notch “f” to make surethat the tin solder is able to pass through the through hole “e” or thenotch “f”. The portion of the thermo-compression head being concave mayfunction as a room to receive the solder ball.

Referring to FIG. 40, a thermo-compression head 41 used for bonding thesoldering pads “a” on the power supply 5 and the soldering pads “b” onthe light strip 2 is mainly composed of four sections: a bonding plane411, a plurality of concave guiding tanks 412, a plurality of concavemolding tanks 413, and a restraining plane 414. The bonding plane 411 isa portion actually touching, pressing and heating the tin solder toperform soldering bonding. The bonding plane 411 may be flat, concave,convex or any combination thereof. The concave guiding tanks 412 areformed on the bonding plane 411 and opened near an edge of the bondingplane 411 to guide the heated and melted tin solder to flow into thethrough holes or notches formed on the soldering pads. For example, theguiding tanks 412 may function to guide and stop the melted tin solders.The concave molding tanks 413 are positioned beside the guiding tanks412 and have a concave portion more depressed than that of the guidingtanks 412 such that the concave molding tanks 413 each form a housing toreceive the solder ball. The restraining plane 414 is a portion next tothe bonding plane 411 and formed with the concave molding tanks 413. Therestraining plane 414 is lower than the bonding plane 411 such that therestraining plane 414 firmly presses the LED light strip 2 on theprinted circuit board of the power supply 5 while the bonding plane 411presses against the soldering pads “b” during the soldering bonding. Therestraining plane 414 may be strip-like or grid-like on surface. Thedifference of height of the bonding plane 411 and the restraining plane414 is the thickness of the LED light strip 2.

Referring to FIGS. 41, 25, and 40, soldering pads corresponding to thesoldering pads of the LED light strip are formed on the printed circuitboard of the power supply 5 and tin solder is reserved on the solderingpads on the printed circuit board of the power supply 5 for subsequentsoldering bonding performed by an automatic soldering bonding machine.The tin solder in some embodiments has a thickness of about 0.3 mm toabout 0.5 mm such that the LED light strip 2 can be firmly soldered tothe printed circuit board of the power supply 5. As shown in FIG. 41, incase of having height difference between two tin solders respectivelyreserved on two soldering pads on the printed circuit board of the powersupply 5, the higher one will be touched first and melted by thethermo-compression head 41 while the other one will be touched and startto melt until the higher one is melted to a height the same as theheight of the other one. This usually incurs unsecured soldering bondingfor the reserved tin solder with smaller height, and therefore affectsthe electrical connection between the LED light strip 2 and the printedcircuit board of the power supply 5. To alleviate this problem, in oneembodiment, the present invention applies the kinetic equilibriumprincipal and installs a linkage mechanism on the thermo-compressionhead 41 to allow rotation of the thermo-compression head 41 during asoldering bonding such that the thermo-compression head 41 starts toheat and melt the two reserved tin solders only when thethermo-compression head 41 detects that the pressure on the two reservedtin solders are the same.

In the abovementioned embodiment, the thermo-compression head 41 isrotatable while the LED light strip 2 and the printed circuit board ofthe power supply 5 remain unmoved. Referring to FIG. 42, in anotherembodiment, the thermo-compression head 41 is unmoved while the LEDlight strip is allowed to rotate. In this embodiment, the LED lightstrip 2 and the printed circuit board of the power supply 5 are loadedon a soldering vehicle 60 including a rotary platform 61, a vehicleholder 62, a rotating shaft 63, and two elastic members 64. The rotaryplatform 61 functions to carry the LED light strip 2 and the printedcircuit board of the power supply 5. The rotary platform 61 is movablymounted to the vehicle holder 62 via the rotating shaft 63 so that therotary platform 61 is able to rotate with respect to the vehicle holder62 while the vehicle holder 62 bears and holds the rotary platform 61.The two elastic members 64 are disposed on two sides of the rotatingshaft 63, respectively, such that the rotary platform 61 in connectionwith the rotating shaft 63 always remains at the horizontal level whenthe rotary platform 61 is not loaded. In this embodiment, the elasticmembers 64 are springs for example, and the ends thereof are disposedcorresponding to two sides of the rotating shaft 63 so as to function astwo pivots on the vehicle holder 62. As shown in FIG. 42, when two tinsolders reserved on the LED light strip 2 pressed by thethermo-compression head 41 are not at the same height level, the rotaryplatform 61 carrying the LED light strip 2 and the printed circuit boardof the power supply 5 will be driven by the a rotating shaft 63 torotate until the thermo-compression head 41 detects the same pressure onthe two reserved tin solders, and then starts a soldering bonding.Referring to FIG. 43, when the rotary platform 61 rotates, the elasticmembers 64 at two sides of the rotating shaft 63 are compressed orpulled; and the driving force of the rotating shaft 63 releases and therotary platform 61 returns to the original height level by theresilience of the elastic members 64 when the soldering bonding iscompleted.

In other embodiments, the rotary platform 61 may be designed to havemechanisms without using the rotating shaft 63 and the elastic members64. For example, the rotary platform 61 may be designed to have drivingmotors and active rotary mechanisms, and therefore the vehicle holder 62is saved. Accordingly, other embodiments utilizing the kineticequilibrium principle to drive the LED light strip 2 and the printedcircuit board of the power supply 5 to move in order to complete thesoldering bonding process are within the spirit of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIGS. 35 and 36, in another embodiment, the LED light strip2 and the power supply 5 may be connected by utilizing a circuit boardassembly 25 instead of soldering bonding. The circuit board assembly 25has a long circuit sheet 251 and a short circuit board 253 that areadhered to each other with the short circuit board 253 being adjacent tothe side edge of the long circuit sheet 251. The short circuit board 253may be provided with power supply module 250 to form the power supply 5.The short circuit board 253 is stiffer or more rigid than the longcircuit sheet 251 to be able to support the power supply module 250.

The long circuit sheet 251 may be the bendable circuit sheet of the LEDlight strip including a wiring layer 2 a as shown in FIG. 23. The wiringlayer 2 a of the long circuit sheet 251 and the power supply module 250may be electrically connected in various manners depending on the demandin practice. As shown in FIG. 35, the power supply module 250 and thelong circuit sheet 251 having the wiring layer 2 a on surface are on thesame side of the short circuit board 253 such that the power supplymodule 250 is directly connected to the long circuit sheet 251. As shownin FIG. 36, alternatively, the power supply module 250 and the longcircuit sheet 251 including the wiring layer 2 a on surface are onopposite sides of the short circuit board 253 such that the power supplymodule 250 is directly connected to the short circuit board 253 andindirectly connected to the wiring layer 2 a of the LED light strip 2 byway of the short circuit board 253.

As shown in FIG. 35, in one embodiment, the long circuit sheet 251 andthe short circuit board 253 are adhered together first, and the powersupply module 250 is subsequently mounted on the wiring layer 2 a of thelong circuit sheet 251 serving as the LED light strip 2. The longcircuit sheet 251 of the LED light strip 2 herein is not limited toinclude only one wiring layer 2 a and may further include another wiringlayer such as the wiring layer 2 c shown in FIG. 48. The light sources202 are disposed on the wiring layer 2 a of the LED light strip 2 andelectrically connected to the power supply 5 by way of the wiring layer2 a. As shown in FIG. 36, in another embodiment, the long circuit sheet251 of the LED light strip 2 may include a wiring layer 2 a and adielectric layer 2 b. The dielectric layer 2 b may be adhered to theshort circuit board 253 first and the wiring layer 2 a is subsequentlyadhered to the dielectric layer 2 b and extends to the short circuitboard 253. All these embodiments are within the scope of applying thecircuit board assembly concept of the present invention.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, the short circuit board 253 may havea length generally of about 15 mm to about 40 mm and in some preferableembodiments about 19 mm to about 36 mm, while the long circuit sheet 251may have a length generally of about 800 mm to about 2800 mm and in someembodiments of about 1200 mm to about 2400 mm. A ratio of the length ofthe short circuit board 253 to the length of the long circuit sheet 251ranges from, for example, about 1:20 to about 1:200.

When the ends of the LED light strip 2 are not fixed on the innersurface of the lamp tube 1, the connection between the LED light strip 2and the power supply 5 via soldering bonding could not firmly supportthe power supply 5, and it may be necessary to dispose the power supply5 inside the end cap 3. For example, a longer end cap to have enoughspace for receiving the power supply 5 would be needed. However, thiswill reduce the length of the lamp tube under the prerequisite that thetotal length of the LED tube lamp is fixed according to the productstandard, and may therefore decrease the effective illuminating areas.

Referring to FIG. 39, in one embodiment, a hard circuit board 22 made ofaluminum (or an elongated aluminum plate) is used instead of thebendable circuit sheet, such that the ends or terminals of the hardcircuit board 22 can be mounted at ends of the lamp tube 1, and thepower supply 5 is solder bonded to one of the ends or terminals of thehard circuit board 22 in a manner such that the printed circuit board ofthe power supply 5 is not parallel but may be perpendicular to the hardcircuit board 22 to save space in the longitudinal direction used forthe end cap. This solder bonding technique may be more convenient toaccomplish and the effective illuminating areas of the LED tube lampcould also remain. Moreover, a conductive lead 53 for electricalconnection with the end cap 3 could be formed directly on the powersupply 5 without soldering other metal wires between the power supply 5and the hollow conductive pin 301 as shown in FIG. 3, and whichfacilitates the manufacturing of the LED tube lamp.

FIG. 49A is a schematic diagram of an LED module according to anembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 49A, LED module630 has an anode connected to the filtering output terminal 521, has acathode connected to the filtering output terminal 522, and comprises atleast one LED unit 632. When two or more LED units are included, theyare connected in parallel. The anode of each LED unit 632 is connectedto the anode of LED module 630 and thus output terminal 521, and thecathode of each LED unit 632 is connected to the cathode of LED module630 and thus output terminal 522. Each LED unit 632 includes at leastone LED 631. When multiple LEDs 631 are included in an LED unit 632,they are connected in series, with the anode of the first LED 631connected to the anode of this LED unit 632, and the cathode of thefirst LED 631 connected to the next or second LED 631. And the anode ofthe last LED 631 in this LED unit 632 is connected to the cathode of aprevious LED 631, with the cathode of the last LED 631 connected to thecathode of this LED unit 632.

It's worth noting that LED module 630 may produce a current detectionsignal S531 reflecting a magnitude of current through LED module 630 andused for controlling or detecting on the LED module 630.

FIG. 49B is a schematic diagram of an LED module according to anembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 49B, LED module630 has an anode connected to the filtering output terminal 521, has acathode connected to the filtering output terminal 522, and comprises atleast two LED units 732, with the anode of each LED unit 732 connectedto the anode of LED module 630, and the cathode of each LED unit 732connected to the cathode of LED module 630. Each LED unit 732 includesat least two LEDs 731 connected in the same way as described in FIG.49A. For example, the anode of the first LED 731 in an LED unit 732 isconnected to the anode of this LED unit 732, the cathode of the firstLED 731 is connected to the anode of the next or second LED 731, and thecathode of the last LED 731 is connected to the cathode of this LED unit732. Further, LED units 732 in an LED module 630 are connected to eachother in this embodiment. All of the n-th LEDs 731 respectively of theLED units 732 are connected by every anode of every n-th LED 731 in theLED units 732, and by every cathode of every n-th LED 731, where n is apositive integer. In this way, the LEDs in LED module 630 in thisembodiment are connected in the form of a mesh.

Compared to the embodiments of FIGS. 54A-54G, LED driving module 530 ofthe above embodiments includes LED module 630, but doesn't include adriving circuit for the LED module 630.

Similarly, LED module 630 in this embodiment may produce a currentdetection signal S531 reflecting a magnitude of current through LEDmodule 630 and used for controlling or detecting on the LED module 630.

In actual practice, the number of LEDs 731 included by an LED unit 732is in some embodiments in the range of 15-25, and is may be preferablyin the range of 18-22.

FIG. 49C is a plan view of a circuit layout of the LED module accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 49C, inthis embodiment LEDs 831 are connected in the same way as described inFIG. 49B, and three LED units are assumed in LED module 630 anddescribed as follows for illustration. A positive conductive line 834and a negative conductive line 835 are to receive a driving signal, forsupplying power to the LEDs 831. For example, positive conductive line834 may be coupled to the filtering output terminal 521 of the filteringcircuit 520 described above, and negative conductive line 835 coupled tothe filtering output terminal 522 of the filtering circuit 520, toreceive a filtered signal. For the convenience of illustration, allthree of the n-th LEDs 831 respectively of the three LED units aregrouped as an LED set 833 in FIG. 49C.

Positive conductive line 834 connects the three first LEDs 831respectively of the leftmost three LED units, at the anodes on the leftsides of the three first LEDs 831 as shown in the leftmost LED set 833of FIG. 49C. Negative conductive line 835 connects the three last LEDs831 respectively of the leftmost three LED units, at the cathodes on theright sides of the three last LEDs 831 as shown in the rightmost LED set833 of FIG. 49C. And of the three LED units, the cathodes of the threefirst LEDs 831, the anodes of the three last LEDs 831, and the anodesand cathodes of all the remaining LEDs 831 are connected by conductivelines or parts 839.

For example, the anodes of the three LEDs 831 in the leftmost LED set833 may be connected together by positive conductive line 834, and theircathodes may be connected together by a leftmost conductive part 839.The anodes of the three LEDs 831 in the second leftmost LED set 833 arealso connected together by the leftmost conductive part 839, whereastheir cathodes are connected together by a second leftmost conductivepart 839. Since the cathodes of the three LEDs 831 in the leftmost LEDset 833 and the anodes of the three LEDs 831 in the second leftmost LEDset 833 are connected together by the same leftmost conductive part 839,in each of the three LED units the cathode of the first LED 831 isconnected to the anode of the next or second LED 831, with the remainingLEDs 831 also being connected in the same way. Accordingly, all the LEDs831 of the three LED units are connected to form the mesh as shown inFIG. 49B.

It's worth noting that in this embodiment the length 836 of a portion ofeach conductive part 839 that immediately connects to the anode of anLED 831 is smaller than the length 837 of another portion of eachconductive part 839 that immediately connects to the cathode of an LED831, making the area of the latter portion immediately connecting to thecathode larger than that of the former portion immediately connecting tothe anode. The length 837 may be smaller than a length 838 of a portionof each conductive part 839 that immediately connects the cathode of anLED 831 and the anode of the next LED 831, making the area of theportion of each conductive part 839 that immediately connects a cathodeand an anode larger than the area of any other portion of eachconductive part 839 that immediately connects to only a cathode or ananode of an LED 831. Due to the length differences and area differences,this layout structure improves heat dissipation of the LEDs 831.

In some embodiments, positive conductive line 834 includes a lengthwiseportion 834 a, and negative conductive line 835 includes a lengthwiseportion 835 a, which are conducive to making the LED module have apositive “+” connective portion and a negative “−” connective portion ateach of the two ends of the LED module, as shown in FIG. 49C. Such alayout structure allows for coupling any of other circuits of the powersupply module of the LED lamp, including e.g. filtering circuit 520 andrectifying circuits 510 and 540, to the LED module through the positiveconnective portion and/or the negative connective portion at each orboth ends of the LED lamp. Thus the layout structure increases theflexibility in arranging actual circuits in the LED lamp.

FIG. 49D is a plan view of a circuit layout of the LED module accordingto another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 49D,in this embodiment LEDs 931 are connected in the same way as describedin FIG. 49A, and three LED units each including 7 LEDs 931 are assumedin LED module 630 and described as follows for illustration. A positiveconductive line 934 and a negative conductive line 935 are to receive adriving signal, for supplying power to the LEDs 931. For example,positive conductive line 934 may be coupled to the filtering outputterminal 521 of the filtering circuit 520 described above, and negativeconductive line 935 coupled to the filtering output terminal 522 of thefiltering circuit 520, to receive a filtered signal. For the convenienceof illustration, all seven LEDs 931 of each of the three LED units aregrouped as an LED set 932 in FIG. 49D. Thus there are three LED sets 932corresponding to the three LED units.

Positive conductive line 934 connects to the anode on the left side ofthe first or leftmost LED 931 of each of the three LED sets 932.Negative conductive line 935 connects to the cathode on the right sideof the last or rightmost LED 931 of each of the three LED sets 932. Ineach LED set 932 of two consecutive LEDs 931, the LED 931 on the lefthas a cathode connected by a conductive part 939 to an anode of the LED931 on the right. By such a layout, the LEDs 931 of each LED set 932 areconnected in series.

It's also worth noting that a conductive part 939 may be used to connectan anode and a cathode respectively of two consecutive LEDs 931.Negative conductive line 935 connects to the cathode of the last orrightmost LED 931 of each of the three LED sets 932. And positiveconductive line 934 connects to the anode of the first or leftmost LED931 of each of the three LED sets 932. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 49D,the length (and thus area) of the conductive part 939 is larger thanthat of the portion of negative conductive line 935 immediatelyconnecting to a cathode, which length (and thus area) is then largerthan that of the portion of positive conductive line 934 immediatelyconnecting to an anode. For example, the length 938 of the conductivepart 939 may be larger than the length 937 of the portion of negativeconductive line 935 immediately connecting to a cathode of an LED 931,which length 937 is then larger than the length 936 of the portion ofpositive conductive line 934 immediately connecting to an anode of anLED 931. Such a layout structure improves heat dissipation of the LEDs931 in LED module 630.

Positive conductive line 934 may include a lengthwise portion 934 a, andnegative conductive line 935 may include a lengthwise portion 935 a,which are conducive to making the LED module have a positive “+”connective portion and a negative “−” connective portion at each of thetwo ends of the LED module, as shown in FIG. 49D. Such a layoutstructure allows for coupling any of other circuits of the power supplymodule of the LED lamp, including e.g. filtering circuit 520 andrectifying circuits 510 and 540, to the LED module through the positiveconnective portion 934 a and/or the negative connective portion 935 a ateach or both ends of the LED lamp. Thus the layout structure increasesthe flexibility in arranging actual circuits in the LED lamp.

Further, the circuit layouts as shown in FIGS. 49C and 49D may beimplemented with a bendable circuit sheet or substrate, which may evenbe called flexible circuit board depending on its specific definitionused. For example, the bendable circuit sheet may comprise oneconductive layer where positive conductive line 834, positive lengthwiseportion 834 a, negative conductive line 835, negative lengthwise portion835 a, and conductive parts 839 shown in FIG. 49C, and positiveconductive line 934, positive lengthwise portion 934 a, negativeconductive line 935, negative lengthwise portion 935 a, and conductiveparts 939 shown in FIG. 49D are formed by the method of etching.

FIG. 49E is a plan view of a circuit layout of the LED module accordingto another embodiment of the present invention. The layout structures ofthe LED module in FIGS. 49E and 49C each correspond to the same way ofconnecting LEDs 831 as that shown in FIG. 49B, but the layout structurein FIG. 49E comprises two conductive layers, instead of only oneconductive layer for forming the circuit layout as shown in FIG. 49C.Referring to FIG. 49E, the main difference from the layout in FIG. 49Cis that positive conductive line 834 and negative conductive line 835have a lengthwise portion 834 a and a lengthwise portion 835 a,respectively, that are formed in a second conductive layer instead. Thedifference is elaborated as follows.

Referring to FIG. 49E, the bendable circuit sheet of the LED modulecomprises a first conductive layer 2 a and a second conductive layer 2 celectrically insulated from each other by a dielectric layer 2 b (notshown). Of the two conductive layers, positive conductive line 834,negative conductive line 835, and conductive parts 839 in FIG. 49E areformed in first conductive layer 2 a by the method of etching forelectrically connecting the plurality of LED components 831 e.g. in aform of a mesh, whereas positive lengthwise portion 834 a and negativelengthwise portion 835 a are formed in second conductive layer 2 c byetching for electrically connecting to (the filtering output terminalof) the filtering circuit. Further, positive conductive line 834 andnegative conductive line 835 in first conductive layer 2 a have viapoints 834 b and via points 835 b, respectively, for connecting tosecond conductive layer 2 c. And positive lengthwise portion 834 a andnegative lengthwise portion 835 a in second conductive layer 2 c havevia points 834 c and via points 835 b, respectively. Via points 834 bare positioned corresponding to via points 834 c, for connectingpositive conductive line 834 and positive lengthwise portion 834 a. Viapoints 835 b are positioned corresponding to via points 835 b, forconnecting negative conductive line 835 and negative lengthwise portion835 a. A preferable way of connecting the two conductive layers is toform a hole connecting each via point 834 b and a corresponding viapoint 834 c, and to form a hole connecting each via point 835 b and acorresponding via point 835 b, with the holes extending through the twoconductive layers and the dielectric layer in-between. And positiveconductive line 834 and positive lengthwise portion 834 a can beelectrically connected by welding metallic part(s) through theconnecting hole(s), and negative conductive line 835 and negativelengthwise portion 835 a can be electrically connected by weldingmetallic part(s) through the connecting hole(s).

Similarly, the layout structure of the LED module in FIG. 49D mayalternatively have positive lengthwise portion 934 a and negativelengthwise portion 935 a disposed in a second conductive layer, toconstitute a two-layer layout structure.

It's worth noting that the thickness of the second conductive layer of atwo-layer bendable circuit sheet is in some embodiments larger than thatof the first conductive layer, in order to reduce the voltage drop orloss along each of the positive lengthwise portion and the negativelengthwise portion disposed in the second conductive layer. Compared toa one-layer bendable circuit sheet, since a positive lengthwise portionand a negative lengthwise portion are disposed in a second conductivelayer in a two-layer bendable circuit sheet, the width (between twolengthwise sides) of the two-layer bendable circuit sheet is or can bereduced. On the same fixture or plate in a production process, thenumber of bendable circuit sheets each with a shorter width that can belaid together at most is larger than the number of bendable circuitsheets each with a longer width that can be laid together at most. Thusadopting a bendable circuit sheet with a shorter width can increase theefficiency of production of the LED module. And reliability in theproduction process, such as the accuracy of welding position whenwelding (materials on) the LED components, can also be improved, becausea two-layer bendable circuit sheet can better maintain its shape.

According to the detailed description of the instant disclosure, the LEDlight strip may be a bendable circuit sheet, a conductive wiring layer,a dielectric layer stacked on the conductive wiring layer, a bi-layeredstructure, two conductive wiring layers, an elongated aluminum plate, aFR4 board, 3-layered flexible board, or a multiple layers of the wiringlayers and multiple layers of the dielectric layers sequentially stackedin a staggered manner.

As a variant of the above embodiments, a type of LED tube lamp isprovided that has at least some of the electronic components of itspower supply module disposed on a light strip of the LED tube lamp. Forexample, the technique of printed electronic circuit (PEC) can be usedto print, insert, or embed at least some of the electronic componentsonto the light strip.

In one embodiment, all electronic components of the power supply moduleare disposed on the light strip. The production process may include orproceed with the following steps: preparation of the circuit substrate(e.g. preparation of a flexible printed circuit board); ink jet printingof metallic nano-ink; ink jet printing of active and passive components(as of the power supply module); drying/sintering; ink jet printing ofinterlayer bumps; spraying of insulating ink; ink jet printing ofmetallic nano-ink; ink jet printing of active and passive components (tosequentially form the included layers); spraying of surface bond pad(s);and spraying of solder resist against LED components.

In certain embodiments, if all electronic components of the power supplymodule are disposed on the light strip, electrical connection betweenterminal pins of the LED tube lamp and the light strip may be achievedby connecting the pins to conductive lines which are welded with ends ofthe light strip. In this case, another substrate for supporting thepower supply module is not required, thereby allowing of an improveddesign or arrangement in the end cap(s) of the LED tube lamp. In someembodiments, (components of) the power supply module are disposed at twoends of the light strip, in order to significantly reduce the impact ofheat generated from the power supply module's operations on the LEDcomponents. Since no substrate other than the light strip is used tosupport the power supply module in this case, the total amount ofwelding or soldering can be significantly reduced, improving the generalreliability of the power supply module.

Another case is that some of all electronic components of the powersupply module, such as some resistors and/or smaller size capacitors,are printed onto the light strip, and some bigger size components, suchas some inductors and/or electrolytic capacitors, are disposed in theend cap(s). The production process of the light strip in this case maybe the same as that described above. And in this case disposing some ofall electronic components on the light strip is conducive to achieving areasonable layout of the power supply module in the LED tube lamp, whichmay allow of an improved design in the end cap(s).

As a variant embodiment of the above, electronic components of the powersupply module may be disposed on the light strip by a method ofembedding or inserting, e.g. by embedding the components onto a bendableor flexible light strip. In some embodiments, this embedding may berealized by a method using copper-clad laminates (CCL) for forming aresistor or capacitor; a method using ink related to silkscreenprinting; or a method of ink jet printing to embed passive components,wherein an ink jet printer is used to directly print inks to constitutepassive components and related functionalities to intended positions onthe light strip. Then through treatment by ultraviolet (UV) light ordrying/sintering, the light strip is formed where passive components areembedded. The electronic components embedded onto the light stripinclude for example resistors, capacitors, and inductors. In otherembodiments, active components also may be embedded. Through embeddingsome components onto the light strip, a reasonable layout of the powersupply module can be achieved to allow of an improved design in the endcap(s), because the surface area on a printed circuit board used forcarrying components of the power supply module is reduced or smaller,and as a result the size, weight, and thickness of the resulting printedcircuit board for carrying components of the power supply module is alsosmaller or reduced. Also in this situation since welding points on theprinted circuit board for welding resistors and/or capacitors if theywere not to be disposed on the light strip are no longer used, thereliability of the power supply module is improved, in view of the factthat these welding points are most liable to (cause or incur) faults,malfunctions, or failures. Further, the length of conductive linesneeded for connecting components on the printed circuit board istherefore also reduced, which allows of a more compact layout ofcomponents on the printed circuit board and thus improving thefunctionalities of these components.

Next, methods to produce embedded capacitors and resistors are explainedas follows.

Usually, methods for manufacturing embedded capacitors employ or involvea concept called distributed or planar capacitance. The manufacturingprocess may include the following step(s). On a substrate of a copperlayer a very thin insulation layer is applied or pressed, which is thengenerally disposed between a pair of layers including a power conductivelayer and a ground layer. The very thin insulation layer makes thedistance between the power conductive layer and the ground layer veryshort. A capacitance resulting from this structure can also be realizedby a technique of a plated-through hole. Basically, this step is used tocreate this structure comprising a big parallel-plate capacitor on acircuit substrate.

Of products of high electrical capacity, certain types of productsemploy distributed capacitances, and other types of products employseparate embedded capacitances. Through putting or adding a highdielectric-constant material such as barium titanate into the insulationlayer, the high electrical capacity is achieved.

A usual method for manufacturing embedded resistors employ conductive orresistive adhesive. This may include, for example, a resin to whichconductive carbon or graphite is added, which may be used as an additiveor filler. The additive resin is silkscreen printed to an objectlocation, and is then after treatment laminated inside the circuitboard. The resulting resistor is connected to other electroniccomponents through plated-through holes or microvias. Another method iscalled Ohmega-Ply, by which a two metallic layer structure of a copperlayer and a thin nickel alloy layer constitutes a layer resistorrelative to a substrate. Then through etching the copper layer andnickel alloy layer, different types of nickel alloy resistors withcopper terminals can be formed. These types of resistor are eachlaminated inside the circuit board.

In an embodiment, conductive wires/lines are directly printed in alinear layout on an inner surface of the LED glass lamp tube, with LEDcomponents directly attached on the inner surface and electricallyconnected by the conductive wires. In some embodiments, the LEDcomponents in the form of chips are directly attached over theconductive wires on the inner surface, and connective points are atterminals of the wires for connecting the LED components and the powersupply module. After being attached, the LED chips may have fluorescentpowder applied or dropped thereon, for producing white light or light ofother color by the operating LED tube lamp.

While the instant disclosure has been described by way of example and interms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that theinstant disclosure needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiments.For anyone skilled in the art, various modifications and improvementswithin the spirit of the instant disclosure are covered under the scopeof the instant disclosure. The covered scope of the instant disclosureis based on the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An LED tube lamp, comprising: a plurality of LEDlight sources; two end caps; a power supply disposed in one of the endcaps or separately in both of the end caps; a lamp tube extending in afirst direction along a length of the lamp tube, and having an endsleeving a portion of one of the end caps; and an LED light stripelectrically connected the LED light sources with the power supply, theLED light strip having in sequence a first wiring layer, a dielectriclayer and a second wiring layer, and a thickness of the second wiringlayer is greater than a thickness of the first wiring layer.
 2. The LEDtube lamp of claim 1, wherein a length of the LED light strip is greaterthan that of the lamp tube and the LED light strip has an end portionextending inside one of the end caps.
 3. The LED tube lamp of claim 2,wherein the plurality of LED light sources is disposed on the lightstrip except the end region of the light strip extending inside one ofthe end caps.
 4. The LED tube lamp of claim 3, wherein the first wiringlayer is the layer on which the plurality of LED light source isdisposed, and the plurality of LED light sources are electricallyconnected to the first wiring layer.
 5. The LED tube lamp of claim 3,wherein the end portion of the light strip has a plurality of throughholes to respectively electrically communicate the first wiring layerand the second wiring layer with solder.
 6. The LED tube lamp of claim5, wherein the through holes are electrically insulated to each other toavoid short circuit.
 7. The LED tube lamp of claim 5, wherein the powersupply is directly electrically connected with the end portion of thelight strip extending inside one of the end caps.
 8. The LED tube lampof claim 1, wherein the LED light strip further comprises a protectivelayer.
 9. An LED tube lamp, comprising: a plurality of LED lightsources; two end caps; a power supply disposed in one of the end caps orseparately in both of the end caps; and a lamp tube extending in a firstdirection along a length of the lamp tube, and having an end sleeving aportion of one of the end caps; and an LED light strip fixed to theinner circumferential surface of the lamp tube and having an end portionextending inside one of the end caps, and the LED light stripelectrically connected the LED light sources with the power supply;wherein the LED light strip comprises an elongated aluminum plate, andthe power supply comprises a circuit board and a circuit elementdisposed on the circuit board, and the circuit board is mounted on thealuminum plate.
 10. The LED tube lamp according to claim 9, wherein thecircuit board is substantially perpendicular to the aluminum plate. 11.The LED tube lamp according to claim 9, wherein the circuit board issubstantially parallel to the aluminum plate.
 12. An LED tube lamp,comprising: a plurality of LED light sources; two end caps; a powersupply disposed in one of the end caps or separately in both of the endcaps; and a lamp tube extending in a first direction along a length ofthe lamp tube, and having an end sleeving a portion of one of the endcaps; and an LED light strip fixed to the inner circumferential surfaceof the lamp tube and having an end portion extending inside one of theend caps, and the LED light strip electrically connected the LED lightsources with the power supply; wherein the LED light strip is a multiplelayers of the wiring layers and multiple layers of the dielectric layerssequentially stacked in a staggered manner.
 13. The LED tube lampaccording to claim 12, wherein the stacked layers are away from thesurface of the outermost wiring layer on which the plurality of LEDlight sources is disposed, and the outermost wiring layer iselectrically connected to the power supply.
 14. An LED tube lamp,comprising: a plurality of LED light sources; two end caps; a powersupply disposed in one of the end caps or separately in both of the endcaps; a lamp tube extending in a first direction along a length of thelamp tube, and having an end sleeving a portion of one of the end caps;and an LED light strip fixed to the inner circumferential surface of thelamp tube and having an end portion extending inside one of the endcaps, and the LED light strip electrically connected the LED lightsources with the power supply; wherein the power supply comprises acircuit board and the LED light strip is directly soldered to thecircuit board.
 15. The LED tube lamp according to claim 14, wherein theLED light strip comprises a conductive layer and a dielectric layer, thedielectric layer is on a surface of the conductive layer which is awayfrom the LED light sources, and the plurality of LED light sources areon the conductive layer and electrically connected to the power supplyby the conductive layer.
 16. The LED tube lamp according to claim 15,wherein the LED light strip further comprises a protective layer. 17.The LED tube lamp according to claim 16, wherein the protective layer isan ink layer.
 18. The LED tube lamp according to claim 17, wherein theLED light strip has a widen part occupying a circumference area of theinner circumferential surface of the lamp tube.
 19. The LED tube lampaccording to claim 18, a ratio of the length of the LED light stripalong the circumferential direction to the circumferential length of thelamp tube is not exceeding 0.5.
 20. The LED tube lamp of claim 8,wherein protective layer electrically isolates the anode and cathode ofthe LED light source.
 21. The LED tube lamp of claim 8, wherein theprotective layer comprises openings for exposing a conductive lineelectrically connecting the anode and cathode of the LED light source.22. An LED tube lamp, comprising: a plurality of LED light sources; twoend caps; a power supply disposed in one of the end caps or separatelyin both of the end caps; and a lamp tube extending in a first directionalong a length of the lamp tube, and having an end sleeving a portion ofone of the end caps; and an LED light strip fixed to the innercircumferential surface of the lamp tube and having an end portionextending inside one of the end caps, and the LED light stripelectrically connected the LED light sources with the power supply;wherein the LED light strip further comprises a protective layer, andthe protective layer electrically isolates the anode and cathode of theLED light source.
 23. An LED tube lamp, comprising: a plurality of LEDlight sources; two end caps; a power supply disposed in one of the endcaps or separately in both of the end caps; a lamp tube extending in afirst direction along a length of the lamp tube, and having an endsleeving a portion of one of the end caps; and an LED light strip fixedto the inner circumferential surface of the lamp tube and having an endportion extending inside one of the end caps, and the LED light stripelectrically connected the LED light sources with the power supply;wherein the LED light strip further comprises a protective layer, andthe protective layer comprises openings for exposing a conductive lineelectrically connecting the anode and cathode of the LED light source.24. An LED tube lamp, comprising: a plurality of LED light sources; twoend caps; a power supply disposed in one of the end caps or separatelyin both of the end caps:, a lamp tube extending in a first directionalong a length of the lamp tube, and having an end sleeving a portion ofone of the end caps; and an LED light strip comprising a mounting regionfor the plurality of LED light sources to be mounted on and a connectingregion for connecting the mounting region with the power supply, themounting region and the connecting region electrically connecting theplurality of LED light sources with the power supply, wherein a portionof the connecting region extends inside the lamp tube, and anotherportion of the connecting region extends beyond the end portion of thelamp tube and into at least one of the end caps; the LED light stripfurther comprises a protective layer; wherein the protective layerelectrically isolates the anode and cathode of the LED light source. 25.An LED tube lamp, comprising: a plurality of LED light sources; two endcaps; a power supply disposed in one of the end caps or separately inboth of the end caps; a lamp tube extending in a first direction along alength of the lamp tube, and having an end sleeving a portion of one ofthe end caps; and an LED light strip comprising a mounting region forthe plurality of LED light sources to be mounted on and a connectingregion for connecting the mounting region with the power supply, themounting region and the connecting region electrically connecting theplurality of LED light sources with the power supply, wherein a portionof the connecting region extends inside the lamp tube, and anotherportion of the connecting region extends beyond the end portion of thelamp tube and into at least one of the end caps; the LED light stripfurther comprises a protective layer; wherein the protective layercomprises openings for exposing a conductive line electricallyconnecting the anode and cathode of the LED light source.
 26. The LEDtube lamp of claim 1, wherein the power supply is disposed on the LEDlight strip.
 27. The LED tube lamp of claim 26, wherein the end capcomprises at least one conductive pin electrically connecting with thepower supply by wire.
 28. The LED tube lamp of claim 1, wherein at leasta part of the power supply is disposed inside the end cap.
 29. The LEDtube lamp of claim 1, wherein the LED light strip is electricallyconnected with the power supply by wire.
 30. The LED tube lamp of claim1, wherein the second wiring layer is a piece of metal material.
 31. TheLED tube lamp of claim 1, further comprises a second end cap and whereineach of the end caps accommodates at least a part of the power supply.32. The LED tube lamp of claim 31, wherein the power supply includes aplurality of components and a part of such components is in one of theend cap.
 33. The LED tube lamp of claim 1, wherein the power supplycomprises a plurality of electronic components and all of the electroniccomponents are disposed inside the end cap.
 34. The LED tube lamp ofclaim 1, wherein the power supply comprises a plurality of electroniccomponents and at least one of the electronic components is disposedinside the end cap.
 35. The LED tube lamp of claim 1, wherein the powersupply comprises a plurality of electronic components and at least someof the electronic components of the power supply are disposed on thelight strip.